Thank you for the feedback! There are a couple breakables scattered throughout the map with loads of energy goodies inside, which might accelerate the laser charging process :)
The melee attack does a teensy bit of knockback to get out of a tight corner, but you're right that it won't help survivability too much. If you're surrounded on all sides it might be the end of the line at that point, haha. Regardless, thanks for playing! <3