So glad you liked the game <3
There is a health bar of the monsters on top right and it shows the health of the nearest monster that sees the Hero.
Hoping is faster, but consumes stamina which is needed on fights as well.
Movement goes to all 8 directions, but it seems that the camera is a bit off angle which makes the feel of the movement skewed.
Nice notice!
I'll have to check that out on the next update.