The discussion of whether Baldur’s Gate 3 needs an actual third-person camera mode or not is ongoing, but with Larian now focused on Divinity, modders keep putting out modifications that try to deliver what many players demand in different ways. Now, a ‘true third-person camera’ mod has blown up in popularity and reignited the endless debate.
Relysia’s mod was uploaded on 20th July to Nexus Mods. Since then, it’s hit over 6,400 unique downloads and gone viral on social media. It’s all explained when you look at one of the many gameplay videos people are sharing. For the most part, it looks remarkably convincing if you compare it to previous efforts.
But of course, calling the traditional over-the-shoulder third-person camera (popularised by modern triple-A hits like Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, and eventually Sony’s first-party output) “true third-person camera” has ruffled some feathers. “Cyberpunk was designed assuming it would be played entirely in first person. Baldur’s Gate 3, on the other hand, was developed from the ground up with an isometric camera in mind,” user Manwe explained on X in an attempt to highlight why they believe it’s a bad idea.
“This ain’t Witcher, blud,” another user replied below a post explaining why Larian should look at modders for inspiration and “seriously reconsider what players have been asking for”. To be fair, the opening post underlines such an addition should be optional, yet it’s fair to question whether having too many options in the name of accessibility and appealing to even more players could erase the original artistic intent and hurt the game’s functionalities on a basic level. “Me when I want my CRPG to not play like a CRPG,” a user named Johnny added to the pile of comedic replies.
The thing is Baldur’s Gate 3 already includes a third-person mode, sort of. By zooming in enough, especially when using the gamepad controls, you can almost get Larian’s 2023 behemoth to behave like the original Dragon Age, at least during exploration. But of course, it’s an RPG designed with a top-down isometric view in mind. While exploration can feel revelatory from a different point of view, there’s a reason why Larian hasn’t delivered on that front officially.
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see if the developers pay attention to all the noise during the creation of their next CRPG. Divinity is said to build upon BG3’s foundation while also escaping Dungeons & Dragons’ limitations, so maybe there’s room for experimentation on the visual front and giving more options to a bigger crowd.
