Elden Ring is a popular game but, as with Miyazaki’s previous souls-like games, some audiences criticize the lack of a pause button. Not being able to block the game in every situation is a problem, which can actually be solved by a particular method.
First of all, we specify that we are not talking about the possibility of saving and quitting the game, which is the real method intended by the developers of FromSoftware to pause your game. In this case, it reappears exactly where it was at the end of the game and the enemies are repositioned in their original point: it is a method that can also be abused to exit the boss fights without dying or using dedicated objects.
No, the method in question is different. As shown by Iron Pineapple on Twitter, if we open the Elden Ring menu, go to the inventory and open the explanation menu, the game pauses. This is a complete pause, which prevents us and our enemies from doing anything until we return to the regular menu.
guess what, Elden Ring DOES have a pause button
just open “Menu Explanation” while on the inventory screen
this isn’t a meme, it actually works lmao pic.twitter.com/0tNLFaWwC7
— Iron Pineapple (@IronPineapple_) March 8, 2022
The fact that this submenu pauses the game is an oddity. Probably, FromSoftware has thought that if a player gets to the point of having to check the explanations menu, he needs time to read what is written and understand how to use the various game functions.
But the fact that FromSoftware has thought of it also points out that the lack of a more accessible method to pause the game (without having to quit completely) is a conscious design choice. Whether or not it can be criticized, it is clear that the authors of Elden Ring want to force us to always fear for the life of our character, even when we open a menu.