Hi, thanks for the critique and to hear this got your interest!
-Since you mention that you're not a fan of JRPGs, did you per chance not notice that you can try to run away from battles? Just press X at the start of a turn before giving any orders and there should be an Escape option. I'll add that in-game as a quick tutorial.
-Graphics are definitely a work in-progress, but yeah I could and should make the two first characters more visually distinct.
-The game is currently light in lore yes, but I plan to add more talking NPCs/data terminals and also tweak the areas like the shack and run-down-town visuals to feel more sci-fiish with details like holograms and machinery.
-Adding more consumable items early-game sounds like a great idea, will do.
Thank you once more!