Joel Franey
Joel Franey got his Bachelors in Creative Writing and Games Design from Brunel University in 2017, before going on to do a Masters in Creative and Critical Writing from Sussex University. During this time he also worked freelance in various gaming-related roles and professions, including design, PR, reviews and features, before eventually joining the guides team at USgamer and ReedPop in 2019. Since then, he has written professionally for numerous publications, including Gfinity Esports, Eurogamer, VG247, JellyDeals and Dicebreaker, in various capacities. These have involved, among other things, writing guides, news, features, reviews, and even working as an SEO consultant, restructuring and rewriting content for the purpose of increased online traffic. He eventually joined GamesRadar+ as a Guides Writer in 2021, with a focus on covering single player games and narrative games, though nonetheless regularly contributing to ongoing coverage of online gaming services and multiplayer properties, and has covered a variety of major AAA games in his time since then. In his spare time he is also a long-time fiction writer, having written books, screenplays and more besides in a variety of genres, and is the co-host and co-creator of the ongoing pop culture comedy podcast, "Margaret Thatcher, Templar Spy".
Latest articles by Joel Franey
5 Shadow of the Erdtree tips you should know before playing
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Elden Ring's only DLC expansion is incredibly tough, and there's some tips you should know first
How to beat the Furnace Golems in Shadow of the Erdtree
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Furnace Golems in the Elden Ring expansion are huge, optional minibosses
All Miquella's Cross locations in Shadow of the Erdtree
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Finding every Miquella's Cross in the Elden Ring expansion is a little side quest
All main bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree in order
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide You need to beat at least 7 boss fights in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
Inappropriate Activity Detected fix for Shadow of the Erdtree
By Joel Franey published
Guide The Elden Ring "Inappropriate Activity Detected" glitch isn't your fault (probably)
FromSoftware's next game should be full-on horror - and one sequence in Shadow of the Erdtree proves it
By Joel Franey published
Opinion Opinion | The Abyssal Woods sequence might have its flaws, but there's seeds of greatness growing amongst the trees
How to beat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight in Shadow of the Erdtree
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide One of the first major bosses in the Elden Ring DLC is the Twin Moon Knight Rellana
All Shadow of the Erdtree Map Fragment locations
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide To reveal the full map of this Elden Ring expansion, there's five pieces to find
Shadow of the Erdtree's "Somewhere a Great Rune has broken" message explained
By Joel Franey published
Guide And so to has a powerful charm in the Elden Ring DLC, but what does that even mean?
How long to beat Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree?
By Joel Franey published
Guide The Elden Ring DLC will take at least 20 hours, probably a lot more
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review: "It's almost getting boring praising FromSoftware every time"
By Joel Franey published
Review
How to beat the Elden Ring Radahn boss fight
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide How to beat Starscourge Radahn at the Elden Ring festival
The best Elden Ring Rune farming locations for fast levelling
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide The best places to farm Runes in Elden Ring, no matter where you are
"Hallucinogens, fax machines, parapsychology, and TV guides": One of the decade's best detective games is getting a sequel - and the demo is already here
By Joel Franey published
News It's death and disco in the groovy 1970s
Goat Simulator 3 reveals its "Multiverse of Nonsense" DLC at the Future Games Show with a cosmic trailer
By Joel Franey published
News Including a capybara wearing the Infinity Gauntlet on its head, because obviously
Turns out the early meta for Shadow of the Erdtree is Absolutely Humongous Hammers
By Joel Franey published
Preview Preview | The worst thing you can do with the early bosses of Shadow of the Erdtree is overthink them
Forget swords and sorcery, my time with Shadow of the Erdtree has convinced me that the best route is unarmed combat
By Joel Franey published
Preview Preview | The Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree has over 100 new weapons, and I have my favorite picked out already
Turns out the gold symbols in Shadow of the Erdtree are "Miquella's footsteps," and they hold the key to controlling the Elden Ring DLC's difficulty
By Joel Franey published
News You'll need to find their "Scadutree fragments"
How to extract from a successful mission 3 times in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide To extract from a successful mission, you need to complete primary objectives and leave safely
How to unlock Masterworking in Diablo 4
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Masterworking in Diablo 4 is an endgame activity unlocked via the Pit
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