Cyberpunk 2077 has become no stranger to controversy. It was a buggy launch on all platforms, but in particular, its performance last generation consoles led to it being pulled from digital marketplaces and many players are demanding refunds. Developer CD Projekt Red has also been accused of fostering an unhealthy work environment that forced employees into crunch time. The game was long-in-development, and some of the features promised early on wound up cut. But thanks to the efforts of modders, one of these missing features has been (somewhat) restored to the game.
Early in development, CD Projekt Red promoted a third-person perspective, something that didn't make it into the final release despite showcases during both the 2018 and 2019 E3 events highlighting third-person gameplay and cutscenes. However, in the final release, third-person is relegated to an option for driving -- all other gameplay occurs in first-person.
The lack of third-person didn't come unannounced, but it was surprising. In September, just a few months after its E3 2019 showcase, a statement from CD Projekt Red's community lead Marcin Mamot announced that the team was committing Cyberpunk 2077 to a nearly 100 percent first-person experience. This is surprising given that the studio's previous release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was a third-person game, so the developers had plenty of experience.
Many players bemoaned the loss of third-person, as it has multiple ramifications. One is that players can't really see their character short of pulling up their inventory or staring into a mirror. To many, the ability to see their character in all their awesome gear is an attractive feature. Third-person also has gameplay ramifications, allowing for a different view of the map that can help those disoriented by first-person find an alternative to gain their bearings.
To help fill in what CD Projekt Red left missing, a new mod for Cyberpunk 2077 has popped up on Nexus which enables third-person mode. To install it, players must also download another mod that the third-person mode uses as a baseline to increase stability. The mod does indeed deliver on giving players the ability to switch perspectives, but it's not without caveats.
This mod is very much a work in progress and will require a significant amount of work to fully polish. The reason for this boils down to how CD Projekt Red continued to develop Cyberpunk 2077 once committing to first-person. In some first-person games, the camera (or what the player is seeing) directly corresponds to where the head is located on the player's model. In those cases, switching to the third-person would be easier, as mounting perspective to the head forces developers to animate the character's full motion.
However, a common practice among first-person design is to have the camera mounted at a fixed position that feels correct but doesn't correlate directly to where the character's eyes would be. That's the route CD Projekt Red took, and as a result, the animations for the main character are wonky and the model is distorted if viewed in third-person without any correction. In fact, the player's character doesn't even have a head without the mod.
This mod is slowly adding in animations and has fixed the player's model so it isn't distorted. Right now, walking around Night City in third-person is smooth enough, but the modders are quick to warn users that combat has a ways to go. Animations are awkward or buggy, but regardless, it's an impressive effort considering the brief time the game has been available, and it's worth exploring for those PC players who are longing to see Cyberpunk 2077 in third-person.