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
How to kill Hulks in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Helldivers 2 Hulks are Automaton Bots with weak vents at the back
How to evacuate civilians in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Escorting science teams in Helldivers 2 are part of the Defend missions
How to level up fast in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey published
Guide If you want to reach max level in Helldivers 2 and farm XP, you need to find bot planets
How to kill Stalkers in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey published
Guide Helldivers 2 Stalkers are dangerous, invisible enemies, sourced from a single lair.
How to get Helldivers 2 Armor Piercing Rounds
By Joel Franey published
Guide Armor Penetrating weapons in Helldivers 2 are useful against Automatons and certain bugs
How to find Astrolabe and Antiquarian cards in Nightingale
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Major Arcana cards in Nightingale are made at the Simple Enchanter's Focus
How to get Heartshots in Nightingale
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Nightingale Heartshots are a challenge for the lawman Bass Reeves
How to apply Infusions in Nightingale
By Joel Franey published
Guide Infusions in Nightingale are magical effects that can be applied to equipment.
How to farm T1 Essence in Nightingale
By Joel Franey published
Guide T1 Essence is used for uncommon upgrades and increasing your gear level
Nightingale Lineage, Inheritance and Story in Character Creation explained
By Joel Franey published
Guide What does Lineage and Ancestry in Nightingale mean?
Nightingale review: "Needs an injection of new ideas to help elevate it above the crowd"
By Joel Franey published
Not yet ratedReview
Everything we know about Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
By Will Sawyer last updated
Guide Here's what we know about Elden Ring DLC and the massive Shadow of the Erdtree expansion
How to drop items in Sons of the Forest from your inventory
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Why you can and can't drop items in Sons of the Forest, and de-equipping items explained
How to befriend Virginia in Sons of the Forest
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide To get Virginia in Sons of the Forest as a companion requires patience and time
All Sons of the Forest item locations
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide How to get every key item in Sons of the Forest and where they're all found
All Sons of the Forest item IDs and spawning items explained
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide ID numbers for items so you can spawn them into Sons of the Forest
Helldivers 2 isn't just good co-op, it's a masterclass in designing comedy games
By Joel Franey published
Opinion A few thoughts from the bridge of The Fist of Family Values...
All factions in Helldivers 2
By Joel Franey published
Guide There are two kinds of enemy in Helldivers 2 - but will there be a third faction?
Do Pals evolve in Palworld?
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Pals do not evolve in Palworld, even though there's some that look very similar
How to breed Anubis in Palworld
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide How to easily get an Anubis Egg, and its location in the wild
How to find Palworld Ore and Ingots
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Ore in Palworld is turned into Ingots via a Primitive Furnace
Palworld's big issue isn't its cruelty – it just has no sense of humor
By Joel Franey published
Opinion Opinion | Nobody can agree on how dark Palworld is - because even Palworld doesn't seem to know
Palworld type chart and all Element weaknesses
By Joel Franey last updated
Guide Every element weakness and resistance in Palworld is shown below