I was able to play the demo. Not really sure if it's even possible to win in it, though. I could always be playing wrong, but does anyone have the same issue?
Nope. It's not about how many choices you have, it's all about balancing.
Stikes and holds have similar hitting power, but strikes damage once per attack while holds do continuous damage as long as it's not broken.
When a strike can do 20 damage par attack, holds do 10 damage per second, during 4 or 5 seconds. Hence 40 to 50 damage per attack.