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Everybody who knows me understands I take player customization in RPGs extremely earestly. I'm not referring to optimizing builds, I'm talking about crafting my avatar's visual design with painstaking care. I'm a big fan of games that allow me to really bring my character to life via subtle features like eyeliner, ink, hair highlights, and even nail art. Frequently, I spend more than three or four hours in the editor, painstakingly forming my perfect virtual persona. There's only one problem: Once I leave customization, I typically can't get back in.

The Frustrating Moment

I'm sure everyone's experienced it at least once. You spend what feels like an eternity designing your character, and after plenty of exhausting adjusting, they look flawless. However, when you make it out of character creation and finally get a look at what your character looks like in-game, you notice something unfortunate: Something is off. Maybe their nose doesn't suit their face, or you decide you really should have gone with a different hair style, or you notice that although they look fine from the front, their side view looks absolutely bonkers. Regardless of the issue, there's only one answer: Go back into the editor and adjust your character's face. Sadly most RPGs don’t permit you return to the customization screen, for motivations that escape me to this day.

My first attempt at creating V yielded a character with an impressive manicure, but a subpar face.

Gaming Experiences

The first time it happened to me, I was a few hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition, and finally noticed my generally good-looking Inquisitor's profile. Her nose looked normal from the front, but from the side, it was hilariously off. I played a few more hours before I gave up and began again the game so I could redo my Inquisitor. The same issue arose when I played The Outer Worlds, though I fortunately caught it soon enough that I only lost a few hours of gameplay. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Cyberpunk 2077 — I was so captivated with the game that I didn't notice how awful my V looked until I started using Photo Mode. I couldn't live with her appearance. I lost roughly 15 hours of gameplay beginning again the game to adjust poor V's face.

The Clear Answer

An easy answer to this problem (other than attempting to just accept it): Allow players to re-enter character creation to change their appearance. Several RPGs include this feature, but most of them don't have it initially, which I find completely baffling. Baldur's Gate 3 initially launched with no way to tweak your character's appearance, but fortunately added the appearance changer soon after the game's launch. Although I liked my Tav's initial appearance, I later decided I wanted to change up her physical look to reflect her mental corruption as the ceremorphosis in her head grew more powerful.

When releasing an RPG that locks players out of character creation, the least you can do is emulate Larian's lead and make adding a Magic Mirror your first after-release priority.

Current Cases

When I first picked up Avowed, I was intrigued by the various branches, flowers, and mushrooms I could choose to have emerging from my character's face. But these distinctive Godlike features were a little overwhelming for my tastes, and I didn't really understand why they were an choice to begin with. So I went with the discreet Godlike facial feature the game had to offer, and began exploring The Living Lands. But much later, around the time I reached the game's midpoint, I'd learned enough lore to understand why those unique plants and fungi were available in the editor. Now that these wild customization options made sense to me, I wanted to alter my character's face. Unfortunately, returning to character creation was not an option, something I (and others) found absolutely baffling in a game where the player's appearance is connected to the main quest. Avowed's plans shows that Obsidian has plans to add an character-editing feature to the game later this Fall, but the question remains: Why wasn't it there at launch?

That feel when you realize you're stuck with a plain, fungi-free face.

Positive Cases

I must give credit where credit is due: As much as I disliked Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I deeply appreciated the fact that it launched with the ability to change my Rook's look already part of the game. My first Rook looked like a weird Bratz doll, and it took several attempts to get her looking right. If her bedroom in The Lighthouse hadn't come equipped with a mirror I could use to change her looks, I'd have probably just stopped playing the game without finishing it.

Final Thoughts

Some might argue that it doesn't matter what your character looks like in a video game, and they're free to have that opinion. I just find that RPGs are more enjoyable when I can design my character exactly as I imagine them in my head, and sometimes that takes a few tries.

I know that game development is a challenging, uncertain process, and that some content will always end up on the cutting-room floor. I just find it baffling — and frankly, frustrating — that even now, in The Year of Our Lord 2025, I'm so frequently finding myself locked out of the editor, desperately gripping the bars of its cage and internally shouting, "LET ME IN!"