Elden Ring's Missing Feature Is Giving Fans Pause
FromSoftware finally gave the internet what it'd been waiting for, which is more gameplay footage of the upcoming "Elden Ring." Now that it's finally time to talk about "Elden Ring's" gameplay, some eagle-eyed fans noticed a feature that was present in a previous FromSoftware game, "Sekiro," appears to be missing in "Elden Ring." Unlike previous FromSoftware titles like "Dark Souls" and "Bloodborne," "Sekiro" featured the ability to pause the game by opening the menu. One fan on Reddit noticed that during the "Elden Ring" gameplay preview, the player opened the menu to craft some items and they could faintly see some characters still moving in the game world. Reddit user Agitated_Illustrator posted a screenshot of the in-game menu, where viewers could faintly see characters behind the blurred-out menu background.
While it hasn't been fully confirmed that this is the case, there are a number of reasons why this feature likely isn't in the game. While this would mean that "Elden Ring" will be a difficult game since you can't pause, this missing feature is likely related to online play. Reddit user Tinko01 speculated that the reason you can't pause in "Elden Ring" is because of online invasions and co-op play, which "Sekiro" doesn't have. Needless to say, fans had a wide array of reactions to the revelation that there's no pause button in "Elden Ring."
Fans reactions to not being able to pause Elden Ring
Fans seem to have some split reactions to not being able to pause "Elden Ring." Reddit user Nice_Promotion_777 asked why the game couldn't be paused if you were in a solo-only lobby or playing in the offline mode. After all, there are some people who would like to have the option to play offline and it seems odd they wouldn't be able to pause the game. Other users like Ramee58 are excited that the ability to pause is not in "Elden Ring," but they are a bit concerned that the menu covers the entire screen. They hoped that there is a way to make the menu smaller, so they can keep an eye on what is happening in-game while they are in the menu.
Other users seemed okay with the inventory menu not pausing the game since that could be exploited for crafting items, but they would still like a dedicated way to pause the game. User a_catermelon wrote "I don't mind if the inventory screen doesn't pause the game, honestly that made Sekiro a bit too easy when it came to consumable usage. But pausing the game when visiting settings, or just a designated pause button would be welcomed."
Fans can get their hands on "Elden Ring" on February 25, 2022, when they can see the final product of the "Elden Ring" menu screen.