(ThyBlackMan.com) So CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 has been pushed all the way back to September. This is a game people have been waiting on since it was announced in the spring of 2012 and was finally supposed to drop in April. I tend to say “It happens” when things like this pop up but oof. Anyway, there was some discussion about if it should be in third-person instead of first-person. I say we look at the case for both and see where Cyberpunk 2077 should fall.
Third-Person Is Great For Combat
On one hand, playing CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt in third-person worked very well. Combat could be unforgiving if you didn’t catch on quickly before it just became hairy at times but everything else was fine.
You had a big world of several regions, each with a different culture and varied enemies. This mean that while you had the same quests—most of which were monster slaying—you ran into different enemies that required different approaches.
The thing is that with The Witcher 3, that third-person view was necessary. Fighting in first-person just wasn’t going to work with the way battles worked in that game and how enemies moved. This wasn’t a game where enemies attacked in roughly the same way like in say Fallout 4.
Enemies did that as well as jump, zip, fly, disappear, and shot stuff at you. On top of that, as mentioned before, enemies in The Witcher 3 had different types. That meant you needed different spells and you had to have them ready to pop. That requires a good view of the battlefield and third-person was the only way to go.
You also have to factor in the scale and camera angle the game shows in. The Witcher 3 often had the camera further back as a default and the scale of the characters appeared smaller among the surroundings—just like in the Grand Theft Auto or Monster Hunter games. A title such as Elder Scrolls or Fallout had big worlds as well but the scale was larger and the camera was closer in.
That’s why first-person worked for the combat and action in those games and others. It’s best for close-up, personal combat and precision shots.
First-Person Is Great For Immersion
Now, both perspectives can be good for combat but only one truly rocks it for immersion. I have to admit when immersion rose to buzzword status in gaming, it annoyed the hell out of me. To say I hated the word would be an understatement. However, there’s no denying that as far as putting you in a game world first-person is the way to go.
See, when you play in third-person you’re playing a character who is part of the game world. You’re doing the say in first-person but the game is viewed through your perspective and not just you watching what you’re doing unfold. There’s a degree of you doing it. You’re not just playing the character; you are the character.
This is something that came from old dungeon crawling RPGs and first-person shooters but once it was applied to open world RPGs, first-person really popped. Because even if you’re playing a FPS, you’re still playing as a defined character. When western RPGs began merging open world and first-person, it was like a perfect marriage.
In open world RPGs, you typically create your character. How they look, their starting skills—that stuff. You’ve made your avatar in the game world. Now there’s thing about not getting to see how your armor and weapons look on you and personally, it’s not something I really cared about. Being immersed in the game world is a bigger thing since that’s what makes it hard to pry me from a game.
Which One Is Best for Cyberpunk 2077?
Cyberpunk 2077 is an RPG where you create your character. The scale is likely to be more in line with what you would get from Fallout or Elder Scrolls. Combat would be better suited to that and the game is technically done. However, I’d say go with a compromise.
Both Fallout and Elder Scrolls allowed for third-person once they went 3D. On console, you just pressed the right stick or used R3 and the perspective changed. That’s it. Now, could it make it dicey for combat? Certainly. To integrate third-person into a game meant to be played in first-person would mean adjusting the combat system—which means pushing the game back further. September is far enough.
It’s not impossible to fight in third-person in these types of games. Plus, players are likely to go first-person for precision aiming at times. Also, there are players who have actually mastered both or are better in third-person but I’ll say Cyberpunk 2077’s default should remain first-person.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.