Thanks for playing!
This is really strange. You are the first person to report not being able to attack unless you are crouching. Most of the people playing the game have done it on the web version with a keyboard, so that is extra strange
You should be able to do a melee attack while on the ground with or without crouching, and on the air.
The dash and projectile are unlockable abilities. You don't have them from the start
Also the enemies not flinching from your attacks was a deliberate choice. That was heavily influenced by castlevania, as many things in the game are. I understand it is a matter of preference here whether that is good or not, but it is possible to defeat any of the enemies in the game without taking any damage
Not sure what to say about the control issues, other than maybe trying the windows or mac version