Feels a little cheesy but if it works it works. The game is difficult as is, why wouldn’t you run in circles and strike when and where possible.

Yea I’d also say that exploration is the take-away lesson here. You get to explore the burning Hirata Estate, find more story beats, some later characters are hinted at etc etc. Plus, like many soulslikes, it teaches you to explore your options before just brute forcing a boss