Should the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, introduce a pause button

FromSoftware's sudden announcement of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC being in development for Elden Ring certainly threw fans into a frenzy. Although numerous fans of the game were expecting an announcement for a DLC expansion, FromSoftware's silence had many believing that a DLC for Elden Ring was never going to happen and would remain only a myth amongst hardcore Soulslike fans.

After this decision, FromSoftware has prevented millions of fans from going "hollow" with the announcement of Shadown of the Erdtree DLC. Despite the DLC's announcement, relevant details about the upcoming expansion are incredibly scarce, with fans only having an image and accompanying lines of text on the game's official webpage to work with.

With Elden Ring's DLC officially confirmed, there are many things that FromSoftware can work on adding to the game, based on community feedback. One feature that some fans have been asking for is a dedicated "pause button" for the game, which may seem like a nice addition to the game, but could also be detrimental to the overall experience.

This article reflects the personal views of the author.

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Should FromSoftware add a dedicated pause button with the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring?

There has been a long-running debate between hardcore fans, i.e., veterans of FromSoftware's Souls games and the Soulslike genre in general on whether a Souls game should have a dedicated pause button or not. While both sides of the argument do present some really strong and valid points in their favor, FromSoftware, in general, have been rather steadfast with their rule of not including a "pause" feature in their Soulslike titles.

From Demon's Souls to the latest Elden Ring, every single Soulslike action role-playing game under FromSoftware's umbrella has never featured a dedicated pause feature, which comes with its own merits and demerits based on gameplay. The primary reason for Souls games not having a dedicated pause button can be attributed to the fact that these games usually feature a synchronous multiplayer component.

Although the Souls titles feature a dedicated offline mode as well, there's no pause feature within that mode either, potentially in place to ensure players have an almost identical experience regardless of how they choose to play these games, online or offline. While it can be argued that adding a pause button won't hamper the game in any way that's negative or detrimental to the experience, it certainly goes against FromSoftware's established design philosophy.

Unique features such as the steep difficulty curve, a healthy variety of weapons and builds, multiple ways to approach a battle scenario, and even the lack of a dedicated pause button are all staples of a FromSoftware Soulslike experience and have practically remained unchanged throughout all of their games. Although FromSoftware introduced a dedicated pause button in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the game wasn't a true Soulslike to begin with.

For some players, the lack of a pause button is something that makes FromSoftware's video games enticing in the first place. Yes, a pause button could potentially arrive in Elden Ring's upcoming DLC, which could be a boon for many players, but it won't be something that FromSoftware is too keen on adding, especially with Hidetaka Miyazaki helming the project.

Also, given how little information is available regarding Elden Ring's upcoming DLC at the time of writing this article, it can only be guessed what FromSoftware has in store for the upcoming expansion, and whether they do plan to add any "quality-of-life" elements such as a dedicated pause button for the game.