Elden Ring can be a tough game, and if you’re not used to finding a safe spot when you need to deal with real life things, a pause option would be nice to have. Apparently there is a way to naturally pause the game and it's a rather simple method that doesn’t require mods.

How to pause in Elden Ring

Souls games have always launched with the inability to pause the game, even when sorting your inventory you’re vulnerable to enemy attack. Elden Ring is no different, but there is a way to do so that doesn’t require anything special like mods. All you need to do is simply go to the menu and open the “Menu Explanation”.

Simply go to your inventory and press the help button (touch pad for the PS5) then among the three choices available choose “Menu Explanation”. When the explanation on how the Inventory menu works, the game is paused.

I tried it myself on my game and it definitely pauses any action you’re in.

This was brought to light by a Youtuber that goes by the name IronPineapple, you can see him testing the manual pause below.

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

In PC, there is a mod available that lets you pause the game if you really need such a feature, but that will require you to work around the game’s anti-cheat system, which is something I wouldn’t recommend just to get the ability to pause.

If you really need to pause the game because your dog really needs to go outside or your food delivery has arrived, just go to the inventory and remind yourself how the inventory system works.

Elden Ring is now available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

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