Elden Ring: How to Pause the Game

Today’s the day that FromSoftware’s much-anticipated action-RPG finally launches, and we’re happy to report that fans and critics alike are having an absolute blast with it. While the majority of your time will be spent taking down hulking bosses and grotesque monstrosities, all that intense combat may soon begin to tire you out. As a result, you may be wondering if there’s a way of pausing the action in Elden Ring. In this guide, we’ll explain all. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Can You Pause the Game in Elden Ring?

While you cannot pause the game in Elden Ring – well, in the traditional sense, anyway – it’s come to our attention that there is thankfully a workaround that does pause the action.

Menu Explanation to Pause

Firstly, go into the game’s menus by pressing the Options button on PS5 or Menu button on Xbox. Next, tab down to ‘Inventory’ and open it. Then, press the Touchpad/View button, and it’ll bring up a menu with three choices: View Controls, Explanation, and Menu Explanation. Choose the latter ‘Menu Explanation’ option and – voila! – your game of Elden Ring will now be paused.

Keep in mind that as soon as you back out of the menu explanation screen, the action will continue, even when you’re still in the various menu screens, so you’ll need to exit out of these quickly if you were in the middle of combat when you selected the ‘Menu Explanation’ option.

But that’s about everything you need to know about pausing the game in Elden Ring. For more tips, tricks, and guides, search for Twinfinite, or head on over to our dedicated wiki for the game. 

And for any questions you have that aren’t answered on the site, do feel free to reach out in the comment section below and we’ll do our best to lend a hand.