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
I've fallen in love with Elden Ring's absolute worst area – just like I did with Dark Souls and Bloodborne
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Areas I once hated in some of my favorite action RPGs are now places I relish
Rise of the Ronin sits somewhere between Assassin's Creed and Nioh, but the action RPG's rhythm combat took me back to a 27-year-old PS1 classic
By Joe Donnelly published
Hands-on Preview | Team Ninja's latest PS5 exclusive is the studio's most ambitious yet – can it pull off everything it hopes to achieve?
Trust me, you should totally play the latest GTA Online update like it's Metal Gear Solid
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | The Cluckin' Bell Farm Raid is best approached with a serious dash of Solid Snake
From Skyrim to Elden Ring and even Final Fantasy 7 – my favorite RPG magic spell has never once let me down
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | I get by with a little help from my (overpowered) friends
I never once thought of Dark Souls or Diablo when playing Moon Studios' previous games, but the dev's new action RPG feels like the perfect evolution of ideas and talent
By Joe Donnelly published
Preview Preview | Hands-on with No Rest for the Wicked, a game that wants to reinvent the ARPG genre
Final Fantasy 16's Clive and Cid actors discuss the importance of in-person chemistry when working on massive story-driven RPGs
By Joe Donnelly published
Interview Interview | Ben Starr and Ralph Ineson have a great rapport on and off-screen, but that may not have been the case in different circumstances
We're no closer to an exact GTA 6 release date, but is the incoming crime sim likely to follow its forerunners' end-of-year drops?
By Joe Donnelly published
GRAND THEFT AUTOSPY Grand Theft Autopsy | Every mainline GTA bar one has landed between September and November, is GTA 6 gunning for the same?
Starting a new GTA Online profile from scratch in public servers is more thrilling than chasing any open-world platinum trophy
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Who knows what the future holds for GTA Online, but I'm taking the city by storm one griefer war at a time
As much as I'd love more, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC should be the action RPG's curtain call
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | As FromSoftware seeks perfection, I reckon Miquella's story is the only one we need to see
After almost 400 hours with Elden Ring, I've found the action RPG's hardest enemy – an innocuous, random teleporting knight who you might have missed entirely
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Just when I thought I was out, this random banished knight has pulled me back in
I've spent over 10 years trying (and failing) to beat this dungeon-crawling roguelike RPG that was made using cellphone internet data in a treehouse in the woods
By Joe Donnelly published
Now Playing Now Playing | Legend of Dungeon is the game I love to hate, hate to love, and couldn't imagine my life without
13 developers share the video games that helped them fall in love with gaming
By Josh West published
Feature We asked the devs who are helping to shape the future of gaming what made them fall in love with playing them in the first place
Two of my all-time favorite Metroidvania games launched in the last year – and I've hardly understood a word of their stories
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Narrative hand-holding is fine, but light-touch storytelling suits me just fine in the Metroidvania space
Ultros review: "A drop-dead gorgeous head trip of a Metroidvania game set in a cosmic uterus sarcophagus"
By Joe Donnelly published
Review
Griselda GTA 6 rumors have persisted for 8 years – in the wake of the Netflix show, I really hope there's some truth to them
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | I've just finished the six-part miniseries and am more on board than ever
Rise of the Ronin's martial arts and ranged weapons are going a long way to realizing my Sekiro meets Bloodborne fantasy
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | Rise of the Ronin looks like it could take choice-driven combat to a whole other level
The Metroidvania genre is on fire right now, and Tales of Kenzera Zau just jumped to the top of my most-anticipated list
By Joe Donnelly published
Opinion Opinion | The debut venture from Surgent Studios enters a genre in great health
PlayStation State of Play predictions: What we want to see at the 40-minute showcase that promises 15+ games
By Joe Donnelly published
PREDICTIONS Opinion | With "extended looks at Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin" already confirmed, what else might we see?
"The Thing on an oil rig" is one hell of a pitch, but Still Wakes the Deep's unshakable terror is driven by its unheroic characters
By Joe Donnelly published
Big In 2024 Big In 2024 | Protagonist Caz is an unfit ex-boxer "in the middle of a situation beyond imagining"
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Everything we know so far
By Josh West last updated
Feature We're counting down the days until Kill the Justice League launches
Hollow Knight Silksong's agonizingly long road to release might actually be an accidental stroke of genius
By Joe Donnelly published
Big In 2024 Big In 2024 | There are few games capable of stirring this level of hype right now, but Silksong is definitely one of them
The GTA 6 trailer landed 8 weeks ago – what has the Grand Theft Auto community been speculating about since?
By Joe Donnelly published
GRAND THEFT AUTOPSY Grand Theft Autopsy | From Lucia's actor to the unnamed co-protagonist's role, we dissect the biggest GTA 6 rumors
Avowed's commitment to ubiquitous player choice could make it 2024's standout RPG: "At Obsidian, it's your world, your way, right?"
By Joe Donnelly published
Interview Interview | In combat, in questing, and in everything between, Avowed puts you at the heart of everything it does
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