there are i frames, but only for the short duration that the player is blinking after being hit. fall damage does not provide i frames, so you can get punished easily this way.
Its all optional ways to crush the gems to get their collectibles. one Idea ive considered to benefit the crusher is to double the gem drop, so instead of 3 per gem cluster youd get 6.
you also have the option to fight the enemies head on with your kicks, but does not provide the range that throwing the gems will provide.
I believe the controller issues are from not using an Xbone/series controller. deadzones can be set in the pause menu.
I appreciate you trying it out!