The indicators of such attacks are clear and easy to spot (red icons that appear over their head as they prepare to strike), giving you plenty of time to see them and dodge on reaction. Your shield can absorb some hits perfectly and parry others (the parry is very good, by the way), but the majority of the time you need to roll out of the way. Tails of Iron is a game that emphasizes defense partially because most of the attacks every enemy uses are unblockable. It’s the nature of the game’s dodge roll that’s the problem. Translating that sort of combat design onto a 2D plane isn’t easy, but Tails of Iron does a really strong job of doing so. Coupled with how much damage one good hit does, it makes most fights - even the most general encounters - feel tense. It often feels like a standoff due to how much time you and your foes alike spend waiting for the other to act. Most of the time, this creates a very measured sort of combat: lots of moving back and forth waiting to see what the enemy does, preparing yourself to react accordingly. The game instead wants you to hang back and wait for an opening. Rushing in and swinging wildly is a quick way to meet your demise. In Tails of Iron, you’re encouraged to play a very defensive game. There’s no stamina meter, but equip burden (which does affect the speed of your dodge roll), attack animations with long wind-up and recovery, a measured approach to combat… that sort of thing. When I say small Souls-like influences, I mean in terms of feel and some basic mechanical similarities.
From developer Odd Bug Studio, Tails of Iron is a side-scrolling action-RPG with some small Souls-like influences in its combat design that is largely successful at what it does - mostly. You ever play a game you were largely enjoying but eventually had to put down because you couldn’t put up with one small problem anymore? That’s me with Tails of Iron.