This game is indeed dogshit, in order to block an attack you have to be pressing S and nothing else otherwise you won't block in time. Block is next to useless as most enemies will attack way too quickly for you to defend yourself with the exception of some, like the black knight. The shop is also useless because most of the time you can't even accrue enough money to even buy anything and your money disappears when transitioning to the next level.
Edit: I actually beat this game recently and while it's still a dog cheeks game, some of the gripes I had, such as your currency disappearing when transitioning turned out to be wrong.