People have problems de-tangling viewpoint and narrative.
After all, the phrase narrative viewpoint is very common. The narrative is the cumulative techniques used to portray the story... those techniques INCLUDE viewpoint. When we speak of "techniques" they are sometimes known as literary "devices". Common devices are archetypes, dramatic irony, exposition, flashback, foreshadowing, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, and of course, the one we're here for- point of view or viewpoint. We are typically taught that there are 3 kinds of viewpoint - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Viewpoint is actually more subtle and nuanced than that.
Viewpoint techniques should be valuated by how close they are to inner consciousness and limitations of the character through whom the story is portrayed. This is where most writers get confused. They think limits are bad. So they make up weird contortions like 1st Person Omniscient. You can do anything you want in writing, but that seems to me like a good way to destroy the tension in story. One clear source of tension in a story is the unknown.
In our own lives, we don't know what the person across from us is thinking. That's why if someone with a gun in their waistband steps close, your heart will speed up and you will grow more alert. The gun is a threat, and you don't know what the person will do. He might be peaceful, on the other hand, he might be a violent psychotic. So, it's the lack of foreknowledge that creates that energy... not the superabundance of it. If you know everything everybody is thinking (known as head hopping) you defuse potential conflict and energy... not a good thing.
So, some writers think omniscient is the way to go... too much information. There's the other group, the 'eschew everything' writers, who insist that 1st Person Present tense (the hardest writing style) is the way to go. Again, too much of something isn't necessarily a good thing. 1st person is tight, and present tense is immediate, and while it can be written in an evocative way... it's not the ONLY way to be immersive. Let's set the stage and let you judge for yourself about what's possible in each viewpoint, and how it reads. Here's the same passage written in all four viewpoints. 3rd Person Limited Dae sensed the bleeding, but couldn't see it. He hadn't awoken in a light-less space, this was the obsidian darkness of lost sight.
His trembling fingers contacted gashed and burned eyes. His terror increased as he felt down one leg to find a ragged oozing flesh instead of knee. Dae's anguished yell either didn't make noise or he'd gone too deaf to hear above the high pitched ring in his ears. This time he failed to protect them. With no legs and no eyes, he doubted he could atone for his lapse. This person has just been in an explosion if you hadn't already guessed.
It's close enough to be visceral, right? Do we REALLY need to get closer...? Let me throw a curve at you. What if instead of getting closer... I made the READER the protagonist? That's second person.
Let's go: 2nd Person You sense bleeding, but you can't see it. This isn't a light-less space, you've awoken to the obsidian darkness of lost sight. Your fingers tremble as you touch your face, feeling gashed and burned eyes. Terror surges in you as you probe down your leg and find ragged oozing flesh instead of a knee. As you let out an anguished yell, it either doesn't make noise, or you've gone too deaf to hear above the high pitched ringing in your ears. This time you've failed to protect them.
With legs and eyes gone, how will you atone for this lapse? Okay, that was odd... let's go back to convention... with 1st person past tense: 1st Person I sensed bleeding, but couldn't see it. This wasn't a light-less space, this was the obsidian darkness of lost sight. My trembling fingers contacted gashed and burned eyes. Terror surged in me as I felt down one leg to find ragged oozing flesh instead of knee. Letting out an anguished yell either didn't make noise or I'd gone too deaf to hear above the high pitched ringing in my ears.
This time I failed to protect them. With no legs and no eyes, I doubted I could atone for this lapse. Now, the tightest ... 1st person present tense: 1st Person Present I'm bleeding, I know it but can't see. This isn't a lack of light, this obsidian darkness is something wrong with my eyes. My trembling fingers contact gashed and burned corneas. Terror surges in me.
I feel down one my leg and find ragged oozing flesh instead of knee. I let out an anguished yell. Either it doesn't make noise or I've gone too deaf to hear above the high pitched ringing in my ears. This time I failed to protect them. With no legs and no eyes, I doubt I can atone for this lapse. All of the viewpoints here get the same imagery across, each with subtle differences in word choice to fit the viewpoint.
If the right techniques are used, you don't need to go into 1st person or 1st person present tense to get that immersive quality. Still, this is like flavors of ice cream... you like what you like and you'll feel comfortable with whatever resonates with you. Hopefully, this at least gives a better perspective on the techniques and why you might choose them.