The combat isn't bad, just very difficult. Lona is a malnourished war orphan, she isn't going to be taking down anything tougher than starved refugees, rats and the odd lone goblin on her own without good equipment and a lot of training (levels). The game actually encourages you strongly to avoid combat, rewards for defeating enemies are lousy, little xp and next to no decent loot, and even if you fight perfectly you'll still be spending a good deal of stamina that could be better spent doing almost literally anything else.