Joe Donnelly
Joe Donnelly is a sports editor from Glasgow and former features editor at 12DOVE. A mental health advocate, Joe has written about video games and mental health for The Guardian, New Statesman, VICE, PC Gamer and many more, and believes the interactive nature of video games makes them uniquely placed to educate and inform. His book Checkpoint considers the complex intersections of video games and mental health, and was shortlisted for Scotland's National Book of the Year for non-fiction in 2021. As familiar with the streets of Los Santos as he is the west of Scotland, Joe can often be found living his best and worst lives in GTA Online and its PC role-playing scene.
Latest articles by Joe Donnelly
Baldur's Gate 3 has normalized multiple playthroughs like no other game in recent memory – why?
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | The GR team explores why so many Baldur's Gate 3 players are willing to jump straight back in after the credits roll
The Talos Principle 2 review: "One of the best puzzle games of all time"
By Joe Donnelly published
Review
Silent Hill Ascension is the horror origins story we've always wanted, and its Telltale-style public votes promise chaos
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Preview | Silent Hill: Ascension kicks off on Halloween night – with one million pre-registrations, it's set to offer a unique look at the titular terror town
Halloween 2023: Your guide through the spooky season
By Joe Donnelly last updated
Halloween 2023 Halloween 2023 | The scariest time of the year is here – here's a rundown of everything you should play, watch, and read from dusk till dawn
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has such a vibrant open-world that I now want Insomniac to build a GTA 6-rivaling crime sim
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Insomniac should take a leaf from Naughty Dog's book and switch genres – a crime sim in the vein of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 would be amazing
There's a real-world Easter egg at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 that I need in my life right now
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | There's something about Miles' end-of-game costume that I'm sure will improve his sneaking side
Spider-Man actor on taking Peter Parker to darker places: "It left me exhausted at the end of every working day"
By Joe Donnelly published
On the Radar On The Radar | Yuri Lowenthal: "Any actor will tell you, they'll play a villain in a heartbeat"
Lords of the Fallen isn't perfect, but its flashes of Dark Souls 2 and Soul Reaver have lit a bonfire within me
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Lords of the Fallen is pleasantly familiar, for better and for worse
Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Mister Negative actor says working with Denzel Washington and Jennifer Garner helped bring his character to life
By Joe Donnelly published
On the Radar On The Radar | Actor, voice actor and stunt man, Stephen Oyoung on his Spider-Man return: "All I have, I owe Insomniac"
On the Radar: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 – A deep dive into the much-anticipated superhero sequel
By Joe Donnelly published
On the Radar On The Radar | Where we bring you closer than ever before to the biggest new releases – and this time we're celebrating Marvel's Spider-Man 2
The game that makes silly people like me feel super intelligent is back after 9 years, and now it's more rewarding than ever
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Preview | The Talos Principle 2 is a healthy dose of new and nostalgia for puzzle game fans of all tastes
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 review: "Quite simply the best superhero game yet"
By Joe Donnelly published
Review
It took me 26 years to beat my all-time hardest JRPG nemesis, and now I'm both delighted and devastated
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Opinion | And doing so has fanned the flames of desire for one of next year's biggest upcoming RPGs
How Ubisoft transformed Assassin's Creed Mirage protagonist Basim from evil to endearing
By Joe Donnelly published
Interview Interview | An antagonist in Valhalla, Basim Ibn Ishaq is back in the form of Assassin's Creed Mirage's hero
How rejecting racism, reconnecting with Arabic culture, and a chance phone call helped bring Assassin's Creed Mirage's Basim to life
By Joe Donnelly published
On the Radar On the Radar | In conversation with Lee Majdoub, the man tasked with reimagining Basim Ibn Ishaq in Assassin's Creed Mirage
With respect to the last decade's blockbuster open world games, GTA Online is still the best of them all in 2023
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | As GTA Online turns 10, we explore why players are still flocking to the city of sin after so many years
Meet the GTA Online skydive stunt master who's spent over 10,000 hours perfecting aerial tricks – their latest anniversary montage will blow you away
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Interview | Ash Skyqueen is back dazzling in the skies of Los Santos and Blaine County with a new stunt collection
I haven't felt this way about a fighting game since I knocked myself out on a Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet at a bowling alley 30 years ago
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | As a reboot, Mortal Kombat 1 will inevitably draw newcomers – but its appeal for me spans decades in more ways than one
GTA Online changed the face of multiplayer heist games, but Payday 3 holds the blueprints
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Payday 3 doesn't reinvent the wheel but it'll definitely feed your heist movie power fantasies – assuming its servers let you
Starfield is bigger and more ambitious than Skyrim, but will it stand the test of time in the same way?
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | It's got the ingredients to match The Elder Scrolls 5's legacy, but does Starfield know what to do with them?
Bloodborne changed the face of action RPG horror, but Lies of P could redefine our expectations
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Lies of P could, and probably should, mark a new dawn for Soulslike horror
If you can't play Starfield, this sci-fi Skyrim mod has 7 districts, 200 interiors, 400 NPCs and is perfect for space envy
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Struggling with Starfield FOMO? You might fancy visiting Fort Knox via Tamriel
GTA 5's open world map was so ahead of its time that it's no surprise people are still flocking to it 10 years later
By Joe Donnelly published
Feature Opinion | It may be cliche to describe video game settings as central characters, but it's absolutely true of Grand Theft Auto 5's Los Santos and Blaine County
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