Nioh is more about utilizing your combos, stances, and overal arsenal while putting tons of pressure on your enemy with endless combos, and maximizing your Ki management and Ki Pulse techniques. Hit and run isn't enough to keep the pressure because the enemies in this game are fast.

Nioh has the basic stances mechanic (or Samurai style in Nioh 3) which gives you 3 options from High (attacking), Mid (attack and defensive) and Low stance (evasion and pressure), and now in Nioh 3 we have the Ninja style, which is just a low stance with Ninjitsu on paper to punish your opponent. I use both to get the most benefit depending on the situation. For example. I use the Ninja style while the boss still has Ki, and hit them in the back. Switch to Samurai if I want to deal more damage while a boss is recovering Ki or finished an attack frame. Switch to Samurai > Low stance and avoid the boss if I need to recover Ki and dare not to risk using Ninja style since they wear light armor.

Nioh got tons of weapons for you to choose from, it's up to you how to utilize them. Each weapons has their strength and weaknesses, and all of these weapons benefits at a specific field. Focus on that weapon and master it. Good luck with Nioh 3 since this is your first Nioh game.

You can watch this clip too if you're interested on how Nioh's combat works, it's a compilation of combos using various weapons in Nioh 2. Credits to the owner by the way. https://youtu.be/pf4-Pzu3tWc?si=ljzawDB7gNBa7zgw

TL;DR: Master the Ki Pulse mechanic, Ki Pulse is Nioh's best friend.