Elden Ring doesn't come with a pause button, and while there is a mod that lets you pause, a Twitter user and Elden Ring player has figured out a way to pause without external help.

As IronPineapple noted on Twitter, players can pull up the menu explanation in the Inventory screen. Doing so will freeze the background action. I tested it out on PC, and it does indeed effectively pause the game. GameSpot also verified this works in the Xbox version of the game.

On PC, players need to pull up the Inventory, go to Help, and then press menu explanation. On the Xbox, players can press Start, A, Select, and scroll down two spots to menu explanation.

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

On PC or Xbox, it's a bit unwieldy to press these buttons when you're mid-combat. I tried pausing while fighting a giant crab, and the monster still decimated me as I fumbled unsuccessfully for the sequence of buttons. The best use of this pause is probably when you're idling on Torrent in a safe place and need to step away from the game for a second.

Elden Ring was released in February and has enjoyed widespread success. The game is massive with plenty of tricky areas, so if you want some pointers, check out our Elden Ring guide hub. You can find out if you should let Fia hug you, where to get the Guts claymore, and more.

Elden Ring Guides