Elden Ring Can Be Paused on One Specific Menu

The Souls-like game FromSoftware follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, forcing gamers to find a quiet corner on the map to avoid danger when they need a bit of downtime. But now, YouTuber iron pineapple found a way to pause the game for real. The best part? You don’t need a mod for this – the hidden pause feature is actually part of one particular menu in the game. Essentially, this means that PC gamers no longer need to disable an online game in order to pause the game… and console players can do that too.

This feature is activated by going to your inventory, then opening the “Help” screen, and then selecting “Menu Explain”. When viewing this explanation of the inventory menu, the game will pause, allowing you to make a cup of tea or quietly open the door.

IGN has confirmed that this pause actually works in the game.

A quick look at the unofficial Elden Ring “pause” menu. Credit: FromSoftware. This is a rather verbose way to pause the game – much more difficult than just hitting “Start” like in the old games. But while this method may not help as much if you’re in the middle of one of the incredibly difficult Elden Ring boss fights, it can help take your breath away as you travel through the Lands in Between.

Unfortunately, this seems like an unintended benefit… and so it’s likely that FromSoftware’s Elden Ring developers will fix this functionality in the future. Until then, feel free to use it whenever you need a break from the relentless onslaught. IGN’s review of Elden Ring called it “a massive iteration of what FromSoftware started with the Souls series, taking relentlessly challenging combat into an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”

Interested in learning more about Elden Ring? Check out our beginner’s guide for all the basics as well as our tips, tricks and survival tips.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.