Psycho Dream Switch Review – The Game Slush Pile

Before, I talk about Psycho Dream, I’m going to talk about Kamikoto Knives. Bear with me, it’ll make sense it a second. Kamikoto wraps its knives in a myth present among westerners, than Japanese products are somehow superior to western products. You can see this in the about page:

We set out to develop a single bevel Japanese steel knife that we would be proud to use and gift to our friends. For us, knives are a matter of heritage, craft and skill. We sought the counsel of Japanese blade experts and multigenerational Japanese knife smithing families to create knives that could win the appreciation of the best chefs in the world and knife enthusiasts alike.

Each blade pays tribute to the centuries-old craft of knifemaking, and is handcrafted with precise attention and care, employing traditional skills handed down by expert knifemakers through the centuries.

Kamikoto is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and sources its steel from the Ibaraki 茨城県 prefecture of Japan. In the previous years, Kamikoto sourced its steel from carefully chosen steel mills around the Honshu 本州 island, the main island of Japan, before making the decision to use exclusively Ibaraki 茨城県 Steel due to its reliability and corrosion resistance. Kamikoto knives are solemn blades made for a lifetime, crafted for chefs and knife enthusiasts.

Further down the page, you learn the knives actually made in China. What they don’t tell you is that there is no headquarters in Tokyo, they use low quality Chinese steel, and the knives are essentially overpriced junk. But they sell the knives to you based on a myth of ancient Japanese mystical knifemaking. What does all that have to do with Psycho Dream? Ratalaika Games is selling you the same myth.

The Myth of Psycho Dream

Originally released in Japan in 1992, a western port of Psycho Dream was in development, but was cancelled. I can see why! You play as either a male samurai or a female dominatrix. You fight through six levels(tracks) split into several chapters. The plot revolves around going into a virtual reality simulation to save this anime girl and none of it matters. The Dmovie concept only exists at the start and nowhere else. The first level is fighting down a skyscraper and fighting an amoeba thing. Then you fight in the subways and fight a bat thing. Then you fight up a skyscraper fight a moth thing. The moth was so cheap and difficult, I found a reddit thread on it.

I believe Psycho Dream never came over because it was never a good game. It exists, its serviceable, but nothing worth playing. It reminds of a game called Run Saber, which did come over, and was light years better than this. But Psycho Dream came over now drenched in the myth of Japanese gaming superiority. Ratalaika is basically telling you to “play this hidden Japanese gem.” Yet in Japan Famitsu magazine gave it 18/40 points. less than a 50% score. Other magazines were similarly unkind. Player reaction was mixed. Yet here it in the US in 2025, lovingly ported over with a rewind and turbo feature. However, the core game is just not good at all. Psycho Dream gets a Not Recommended verdict with a 4 score.

Overall: Ratalaika is selling you Psycho Dream with a myth of being a hidden Japanese gem. It’s a mediocre game that should have stayed buried.

Verdict: Not Recommended

Score: 4

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