First-person perspective vs. third-person perspective: Which offers the player a better experience?

[gastd]

I still can't decide which perspective is better. Personally, I like the first-person perspective for better immersion but the third-person perspective feels "easier" to control. What are your experiences with different perspectives?

 

[CraigJarrett]

Third person is much better. I mean I am not in the game, I know I am not in the game and I am not going to pretend that I am in the game. Third person is by far the better option, I remember when they decided to add that to GTA V, is that supposed to be a good feature?

 

[Ikagura]

That greatly depends of the genre (among other factors such as the narration method or if the story is character or story driven).

 

[Clown Car Cats]

I think third person is better
I like seeing my character

 

[FlyingToaster]

Depends on if the player character is hot or not.

 

[Moot]

For as long as I can remember I preferred first person for any genre as soon as technology made it possible. I remember thinking that first person dungeon crawlers were better than 3rd person ones, first person shooters were better than 3rd person ones, and so on. It was just more immersive.

It was when technology made the player avatar look really good that I switched my preference. It was about the time of Ghost Recon Future Soldier, and the first Witcher game.

There’s still 1 genre that I still prefer first person though: flight action and sims.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

Depends on the genre:

First person graphic adventures have proven to be awkward and to "tunnel vision" the player, at least early on.

Third person shooters can feel weirdly impersonal, like watching the action happen to someone else (which I guess they kinda do).

I don't tolerate first person driving, but excel when the camera is outside the vehicle, etc...

 

[polter99]

I played RE Requiem on both 1st and 3rd camera, and I got to say, 1st is my favorite perspective. On Requiem, it's pretty much eliminate all the janky and stumble animation that make movement feels ass. Fcking hate the stumble animation on RE4R, as it cost me 40 minutes of progress during my Pro S+ run.

In shooter games, probably leaning on third-person simply because gyro-aiming (DualSense) in this perspective is easier to reorient myself (I play PRAGMATA and Deadlock with gyro-aiming). Unless it has sluggish movement like Requiem or RE4R, then I'd rather 1st.

And for games with close combat, which basically Action [RPG], like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, DMC, and Monster Hunter, third person is the preferred perspective so you can react to enemies' attack better. And to lesser extent being able to see your character's cake armor.

 

[Ikagura]

It also depends on the relationship between the player and the character.

 

[gastd]

I guess that's just another matter of taste. But I think it's good that many game developers are now including all perspectives.This way everyone can decide for themselves how they want to play.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

the third-person perspective feels "easier" to control.

Depends on what you mean by either. Tank controls in 3rd person aren't the easiest to work with.
And first person DRPGs are easy to control.

 

[Ikagura]

King's Field and Demon's/Dark Souls are fundamentally similar yet the shift from first to third person changed the dynamic of the game.

Zelda isn't too dissimilar to first person adventure games yet I feel that not being able to see Link would've made platforming harder.

The Elder Scrolls games have sometimes a third person camera but look at how janky those look.

Mirror's Edge could've been a TPS platformer yet the first person perspective was such a good and daring idea.

 

[Sorion]

It really depends of the game and how the developers manages to make the perspective work in favor of the game strengths , Half life 2 for instance, manages to be both a great shooter and an immersive story, in other games having a first person camera would be a detriment to the narrative because you can't see your character but Gordon Freeman is a silent protagonist so it really doesn't matter in this case, Gordon is merely there to be an avatar for the player, then the designers tell the story of the game around the player, you're just witnessing the events, following orders, shoot the bad guys, but you can never see the game character nor never give opinions, the game kinda amuses you're working to defeat the aliens and it really works.

 

[BrawlMan]

Boils down to personal preference. I can handle either fan, but I prefer mainly third person. My older brother doesn't care for FPS games, outside of Doom, Battlefield, and Golden Eye 64.

 

[Ikagura]

I used to assume that platforming was systematically awful in first person because you couldn't be "aware of your body" when jumping from one platform to another until I saw that Doom, Quake and Half-Life managed to do it properly.

I think FPS having a ledge grab may be superfluous but I understand the whole "body awareness" thing.

I also think that melee combat is harder to do in first person.

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

. Fcking hate the stumble animation on RE

 

[Ikagura]

I also think that melee combat is harder to do in first person.

I'll probably be controversial but The Elder Scrolls series has never really shined through its melee combat imo (or not unless you have advanced abilities). This is why archery and magic have always been seen as a definitive way of playing for many.


I just remembered that game

I would love to see a VR successor.

Speaking of VR, is this support intrinsically made for first person gameplay?

 

[Adrastia]

I hate first person. It's tunnel vision city. I will put up with it if I like the game. But I still dislike it across the board regardless.

 

[JellyjamLu]

Third person for me, I appreciate the immersion first person offers, but like some users here who have touched upon it already, I too like to see my character.

 

[Sonic Boomer]

While I can enjoy a first person game, sure, it doesn't affect immersion for me. I generally prefer 3rd person a lot more. I know this is weird but I love seeing the character I play as be affected by light, shadows, see what they look like in the environment. I remember when Mirror's Edge first came out, I was head over heels in love with the game, sure, but god did I wish it was 3rd person instead.

I understood that the for example Breakdown on Xbox was made in 1st person for immersion purposes and for gimmick purposes a bit let's be real, but I wished that too was 3rd person.

I always preferred 3rd person view when it comes to 3D games.
I still played and enjoyed many an FPS just not my preferred style.

 

[shaggi]

It depends on game itself. In my opinion, third-person perspective works better in most cases. On the other hand, first-person perspective give more realistic feel.

 

[Ikagura]

Max Payne could've been a FPS... I'm glad they made it a TPS to better appreciate the slo-mo.

 

[iamthemilkman]

While I prefer first-person, I also like third-person games. It's just that the games that have always been my favorite (Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake, Half-Life, System Shock, Bioshock, Deus Ex, Thief, Dishonored, Halo, Unreal, No One Lives Forever) were first-person games. That said, I love the original Mass Effect trilogy, the first one in particular, and they were third-person games and I wouldn't want them to be first-person since Bioware wanted it to be third-person. I want to play the game as the creators envisioned. What I find annoying as fuck, though, are the people who won't play first-person games and are constantly begging for third-person in games like Cyberpunk. Just play on PC with a mod, or better yet, just play the game the way it's meant to be played.

I don't know where all of these exclusively third-person playing people came from. First-person games were the most popular for millennals and zoomers yet somehow they hate them now. I think people's resistance to the popularity of Call of Duty and games like it have rotted their brains and they try to convince themselves that first-person games are unplayable.

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

Most of "3d" games I like conform to the first person category, the King's Field- Shadow tower games, Duke Nuken 3d, Deus Ex, System Shock, Dungeon crawlers and one that is a bit of both VTMB.

 

[SlobodanElectro]

I played Hitman 2: Silent Assassin back in '02, first time with that type of game besides Metal Gear Solid on the PSX. I felt more in control seeing the Hitman, couldn't jump but I fell in love with that game only to seek out & compare other games to the Hitman/3rd Person style. I also went on to play Soldier of Fortune II & Unreal Tournament (2001?). I got used to it but I was already hooked on 3rd person. There's first person shooters out there and I play them to have fun but always feels awkward, and I remember first feeling that way playing Hexen on the N64. Speaking of N64, I had Star Fox and enjoyed both 1st/3rd person on a shooter like that, that was awesome. Yeah as others said, enjoy seeing the character, especially like Mario64.

Post automatically merged: May 24, 2026

Most of "3d" games I like conform to the first person category, the King's Field- Shadow tower games, Duke Nuken 3d, Deus Ex, System Shock, Dungeon crawlers and one that is a bit of both VTMB.

You probably like Hexen too then. I loved that it was set in a fantasy setting.