I’ve never had a problem with the lack of a pause button. A lot of other things could be a lot better before that. Elden Ring is my favorite game but it’s ok to criticize the bad UX, terrible m+k controls, one or more bosses cheating at the game (see Malenia’s stagger), bad multiplayer mechanics, etc. I will say though that there is no reason for there not to be a pause button. You can already pause by opening a certain menu tooltip so it’s clearly possible.