This Elden Ring mod lets you pause the game

Elden Ring may be FromSoftware’s most approachable Soulsborne game but it’s still tough as nails. Especially when you can’t pause the action and take a breather, or like, dash downstairs because the microwave has pinged. But thankfully there’s a mod that lets you do just this, giving you peace of mind when faced with a bleep from your beloved 800W box. Worth a look, I reckon.

“Pause The Game” is available over on Nexus Mods and lets you, well, pause the game by pressing P on your keyboard. Normally, there’s no option to pause the game at all, even when you go into the main menu screen, so this is – quite literally – a game-changer. I’ve definitely had moments where I’ve needed to answer the doorbell while being assailed by seven bloated rats, for example, and a pause function would have been extremely welcome in those situations.

It’s worth noting that the mod can only be used in offline mode. You will have to disable Elden Ring’s anti-cheat by tinkering with your local files and tweak some folders too. Instructions are, however, spelled out very clearly on the mod’s “Description” tab.

That said, I do feel that being unable to pause the game adds a degree of tension to proceedings. When you’re in a boss fight, you’re committed to it, no matter what. So, pausing mid-fight might detract from the action a bit, but hey, I’m just a dude with too much time and eyeballs that hurt because all I do now is play Elden Ring. This mod sounds perfect for those who prefer having a bit of breather, or often need to scoot away from their telly to tend to something.

And I doubt FromSoftware are ever going to add their own pause button to Elden Ring, so there’s that too.