Trying to pause the game on my laptop, F1 and etc. won't work, is there a way around it?

I also play from laptop, sometimes the game won't stop automatically, you should wait for the end of a message/text or action and try then

I had a similar issue, and I figured out it was because I was using a gamepad. Most of the time trying to pause with the gamepad or F1 didn't work, but as soon as I disconnected the gamepad I was able to open the F1 Trinket menu. I was also unable to absorb 'empathy' (purple text) in one of the non-stop debates because when I would try to slow down the debate with Space, the E button wouldn't trigger. I was able to do it at normal speed, though. A few small bugs, nothing that can't be patched up.

If you cant press f1 f2 f3 ex. press 1 2 or 3