One silver lining of the 32-bit Appocalypse is that many ancient titles that have been left to collect dust on the App Store for years have had the opportunity to be revisited by not only new players, but the developers as well. While many such games just receive a mere compatibility update, others have been bestowed by some significant tweaks and additions that serve to improve titles that may have been written off by fans. Connectrode (Free) is firmly in the latter camp – releasing all the way back in 2011, Deep Plaid Games’ App Store puzzle title was the recipient of a glowing four-and-a-half star review around its launch. However, the last time Connectrode saw an update on the App Store was in August 2012, and therefore the game was firmly on the chopping block when iOS 11 was due to roll into town. To rectify this, the developers have revisited their time-honoured title and updated it almost five years later, and have also made the game free for the first time in its history.

As well as the aforementioned 64-bit compatibility update, the developers have made a few tweaks to Connectrode, and while not all of the changes may necessarily be well received by fans, the fact that the game was dead in the water mere days ago makes any minor complaints irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Ads are now found at the bottom of the screen, and social networking features have also been removed from the game. Considering the cost of updating such old applications, the former is understandable, even if a $0.99 in-app purchase to remove advertisements could be a nice addition. Furthermore, social media features are also a relatively archaic inclusion at this point, so I doubt they’ll be missed by many. On the positive side of things, the developers have made Push Mode harder, with rainbow-colored chips appearing less frequently for more of a challenge. As one of the earlier puzzle matching games on the App Store, Connectrode is certainly worth a look, especially with its shiny new update and free price of entry.

As someone who’s been following the App Store since its inception, it’s been as enjoyable revisiting some old titles that have received 64-bit updates as it has been upsetting seeing certain titles remain in a state of iOS purgatory, and Connectrode is no exception. As the 32-bit Apppocalypse comes ever closer, be sure to let us know what games you want to see updated for iOS 11 compatibility on our forum thread and our Discord Server. Dungeon Raid ($0.99) next? I can dream…