Thank you for the feedback!
>Lean into either slower, higher stake combat with less enemies and maybe add an evade/block (soulslike), or faster paced lower stake combat (boomer shooter)
The former fits better to the final game I have in plans, I'm not sure yet through, still testing stuff. Also yeah, the balance will change radically as I plan to add more utility actions such as shield block, parry, dodge, ranged weapons, etc.