This game should be saved simply due to its uniqueness. The hunter Classic is a universe. All players who have devoted time, effort and money into this game has something in common – all of our experiences are different. Not one hunt is exactly the same, not two animals are completely alike and all the millions of interactions that we players have had with those animals have been unique.
The realism of this game is something that other games have tried, but never succeeded in. I remember being on a real hunt after ptarmigan in the Norwegian mountains. I had never tried that kind of hunting before – except in this game – but suddenly I heard the very particular sound of the ptarmigan and immediately knew what was there. I had seen it before and learned about it in The Hunter Classic. It is not just a game, but also a hunting simulation from which you can learn real things about animals, hunting, patience and decision making.
Through the decades of walking in the different reserves, you have come to know them as particular places. You know specific trees that you will always stop by and spot over the fields, or river crossings. You have even interacted with the universe in ways that remain. The shooting tower you erected at your favorite spot. The animal feeder that has provided you with multitudes of chances.
The hunter Classic is a dated game. It has dated graphics and some of the mechanics are a bit chunky. Maybe it has reached its development potential, but that should just mean that it deserves an honorable retirement. Not to be cremated and erased from existence.
Not just from a nostalgic point of view or due to the time, effort and money put into it by its many players. No game does what The Hunter Classic does, and until a very heir is developed, it should be there as a reminder of just how good a hunting game can be. That is why it deserves to be treated as a good old game.