nOS New Operating System

Genre: Application / Misc.

Players: 1

.

Review:

nOS New Operating System (from now on just referred to as nOS) is an Application released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, with this software designed to imitate a GUI OS such as Windows, Mac OS, Android OS, and so on.

However, I feel it needs to be stated clearly, nOS is in no way an actual Operating System. You cannot use it to access the Nintendo Switch’s features, settings or games. You cannot use it to manage files. You cannot use it to access the internet. You cannot use it to download applications or customize this software beyond the built-in customization options and DLC offered by this software’s creators.

On that note, if you’re looking at this software on the eShop, you may find yourself highly confused by the multitude of versions of this software available. Let me cut down on that confusion for you – all versions of nOS are functionally identical, with the only difference being which of the free DLC is being included within the initial download. However, since all of this DLC is free, there’s no need to distinguish between which of these to get – if you want to get this software, get whichever version you want (namely, whichever is on sale at the time) and simply download the free DLC that it didn’t come with.

Yeah, this is yet another example of publisher RedDeer Games pumping the eShop full of multiple releases of the same game to try to artificially inflate their presence on the eShop to drive up sales. It’s super-gross, and it’s making the eShop worse just to try to increase the company’s bottom line. On that note, this game also is priced at the ridiculously absurd price of $39 (or $40 if you get another version), but no doubt this is just so they can put the game on sale at $2 and make the 95% discount they advertise seem like more of a deal. Yeah, they’re finding all sorts of ways to make this extra-sleazy.

Okay, but putting all of that out of the way, once we get past what this software is posing as but isn’t, and all the disgusting ways this software is being pushed to consumers… what actually is nOS?

What we have here is a simulated GUI “desktop” containing 7-8 individual “applications”. These applications can be started up separately within their own windows, which can be moved around the screen and interacted with using either a cursor moved by the analog stick, or using the touchscreen. Everything is presented with a clean and somewhat cartoony presentation, and save for the few applications with music, there’s no music here, only sound effects for clicking buttons.

The applications are as follows: Calculator, Gallery, Notebook, To-Do, Paint, Puzzle, Settings, and Snake.

Calculator is a basic calculator app, nothing fancy, but it gets the job done I suppose. However, the lack of the ability to use the D-Pad (despite that you can highlight buttons using the D-Pad) really makes using this software slow and inefficient.

Gallery lets you look at images included with this software, as well as those you create in the Paint application, and you can assign any of these images to be the “wallpaper” background, or take it into the Paint application to edit it.

Notebook lets you create text entries using Nintendo Switch’s standard text input. However, this is more for notes than actual full journal or diary entries, as each can only be 220 characters long. There are no font or formatting options here either, and no way to transfer these messages outside of this software.

To-Do is like a more limited form of Notebook, allowing you to create small entries in a list… and only 50 of them.

Paint lets you use a simple art creation application to create your own images. There are not many features here, your ability to create detailed images is extremely limited, and as with Notebook, you have no way to transfer your creations outside of this software.

Puzzle uses one of the pictures from the Gallery application in a simple 3×3, 4×4, or 5×5 sliding tile Puzzle game. As you might expect, this is not very compelling.

Settings lets you change the cursor speed, choose one of three screen savers (each incorporating a real-time clock), choose one of 12 icon styles, or change your language. You cannot set the delay for how long it takes for the screen saver to activate, cannot turn the screen saver off, cannot alter screen resolution or orientation, cannot change the style or color of the interface… basically, unless I just mentioned it, you cannot alter it in settings.

Finally, Snake (referred to in the DLC as Long Cat) is a version of the classic Arcade-style game Snake. You move your elongated snakelike cat to pick up balls of yarn on the small screen, with your character able to travel from one side of the screen to the other. The controls here are a bit clunky, and the whimsical music (the only music in this software) is repetitive and annoying, but otherwise this is a decent take on the classic game. It’s nothing particularly noteworthy though.

That’s it. That’s all there is here. A few extremely limited Applications, two very basic and disposable games, an extremely limited selection of options, and… that’s it. I should note that there appears to be no way to resize or maximize windows, no way to save specific Notebook or Paint creations to the “desktop”.

And this is without addressing the elephant in the room – you get far, far, far, far, far more use out of the operating system that is already on your smartphone. You know, that device that will let you install hundreds of thousands of pieces of software, which is extremely customizable, which can let you transfer files to anywhere you want, which has a multitude of free games far more engaging than this game’s Puzzle and Snake games, which has text editors that allow you to write documents of any length, which has art applications with far more malleability… in other words, nOS is absolutely pathetic when compared to the functionality of any smartphone.

All of this is to say that the appeal, utility, and enjoyment of nOS is extremely limited to the point where it’s dubious that anyone will get much more out of this than the novelty of such a thing existing. As much as an actual alternative operating system on Nintendo Switch would be intriguing and even promising, this is not that, and I suspect that Nintendo would never permit such a thing to be released on the eShop in the first place. Rather, what this is is just a collection of individual applications whose use is so limited as to be pointless, and a few games that are so simple that no gamer will spend more than a few seconds playing them before moving on. None of this is particularly compelling, and none of it is especially useful. And given the sleazy games the publisher is playing to try to inflate this software’s market presence and make its sale price seem more attractive, I highly recommend that you skip this. Even at $2, this gimmicky disposable software is not worth the price, and it’s definitely not worth rewarding the publisher for the nasty way they’re going about pushing this software.

tl;dr – nOS is an Application designed to imitate a GUI OS, but ultimately it’s just a collection of smaller Applications and extremely simple games all wrapped in a presentation that’s extremely limited in options for something posing as an operating system. The utility of this package is close to zero, as is the entertainment value. Really, the only reason to get this is the novelty of having a so-called “new operating system” on your Nintendo Switch, but even that isn’t worth supporting the sleazy tactics the publisher is using to artificially inflate this software’s presence on the eShop and make the price look more attractive than it actually is. Skip this one.

Grade: D-

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Most Overpriced ($40) – If nOS was an actual operating system, this price might be justified. But it isn’t. This is a minigame collection with a gimmicky framing device masquerading as an operating system. And the high price tag is clearly only there so this software’s creators can artificially make it look like a good deal when they drop the price down to $2, when it’s hard to say if this game is even worth the lousy $2. What’s more, this game goes the extra mile by being one of those games that has spammed the eShop with countless “editions” that bundle the game with one of its free DLCs, that were clearly released as free DLCs expressly for this purpose, so this game could take up more real estate on the eShop. Absolutely gross. But since the ridiculous price is a part of this scam, I feel perfectly justified in naming this the most overpriced release(s) of 2023.

.

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Eli Goodman, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}