Yeah, in the end the gameplay systems didn't really work out. The idea was that you'd have to recognize when a monster is coming for you and attack before they get you but in practice, like you said, you can just run past them. A quick fix might have been to make them really fast.
At best, I would have liked each monster to have different ways of attacking and subtler way of determining that they're dangerous. For example, one doesn't attack when you get near him but instead waits until he's nearly offscreen to dash at you quickly, you can anticipate him attacking you by the glare he gives you as you pass him. But giving each monster complex, unique behavior like that would have been a lot for a jam, so I attempted a simpler approach that I realized by the end wasn't that strong. Next time I do a gamejam I should focus on developing and iterating on a mechanically strong concept first.
I wrote a lot there but your got me thinking haha. Thanks for the feedback! And I'm glad you liked the art and music! Those are definitely the parts I'm most proud of.