Back in 2019, CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 would no longer support third-person mode. This was widely disappointing to fans who were excited by the 2018 demo, featuring a cutscene of V in their apartment from a third-person perspective. It look liked much of the game was planned with third-person in mind, at the very least cutscenes, but this isn't the only content that would be cut from Cyberpunk 2077 prior to launch.
However, CDPR has since denied that hefty amounts of content were cut from Cyberpunk 2077 to coincide with the December 10th launch date. Though this may make sense because the original poster of these allegations claimed to be a CDPR employee with no evidence to back their claims, it's clear that many of the plans seen in previously released demos and spotlights had been scrapped, such as cyberware and car customization. Still, the company has plans to mimic a No Man's Sky-like redemption for Cyberpunk with coming updates and DLC packs. Though it may not be able to undo the damage from the disastrous launch, fans would be most appeased to see an update allowing the game to be experienced from third-person.
Third-Person Cyberpunk 2077 Mod
Recently, a mod that allows Cyberpunk 2077 to run in third-person was released from modder Jelle Bekkar. This stoked players who hoped to experience the action from another perspective, or at the very least, didn't want to experience kissing in first-person. However, it was quickly made clear that Cyberpunk wasn't designed with a third-person mode in mind.
While the mod from Jelle Bekkar is still a work-in-progress, it's going to be sometime before it's capable of running stably. In its current state, V runs with a torso that moves independently from their body and with a head that will shunt itself into strange angles, if not disappearing altogether. It'll take dedicated time before this unofficial third-person mode for Cyberpunk is ready to be used.
But the responsibility to enjoy the game this way shouldn't fall on a hobby modder. Rather, it should fall on the developer which has the time and money to do it cleanly, which would mean delivering it to console players as well. Because a PS5 and Xbox Series X release date hasn't yet been decided, this is a great opportunity for the developers to implement a third-person mode and make next-gen versions worth the money.
Cyberpunk 2077's Character Customization
Cyberpunk 2077's character creation tools were another portion of the game that suffered a heavy blow. After it was decided that third-person mode would be cut completely, much of the fine-tuning found in character customization seemingly went in the bin along with it. For example, players were geared up the number of tattoo options originally intended to be in the game. Players would be able to adjust placement, size, and color, but in the current version of Cyberpunk, tattoos are limited to a few stagnant options.
That's not to say the V that players might come up with can't be creative, however, but the only times players get to experience their unique protagonists is while driving a motorcycle, which doesn't trigger any wind-blown hair animations, or in photo mode. Otherwise, players will have to wait until the final moments of Cyberpunk 2077 to see their V in action, and it makes the time spending on character customization feel utterly pointless.
Cyberpunk 2077's Cut Scenes
Unlike what was shown in the E3 2018 gameplay demo, the only time players can watch scenes from a third-person perspective is at the end of Cyberpunk 2077. No matter which ending the player chooses, Cyberpunk has an animated cutscene designed for the moment. Perhaps it makes them more emotional, but it leaves players to wonder how much more intimate or life-like other cutscenes would have been from an outside perspective.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in development.