Gamers Hell writes: "The hidden object game has for some time been one of the most popular casual sub-genres. The basic premise of any game that falls under this banner is fairly simple- you're given a highly detailed scene, packed with objects, and it's up to you to find and click on a virtual 'shopping list' of items. Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets takes this hidden object game blueprint, daubs it with a Sherlock Holmes-esque plotline and adds-on a few casual mini-games to the mix.
The Dr. Lynch of the title is our Holmes and indeed the game's protagonist. England's most famous skeptic and author of (fictional) classics like Debunking England's Ghosts, Lynch's curiosity is piqued when he hears of the sighting of a ghost in Bromley, England. Forever with a beer in his hand whenever he appears in any of the game's cartoon strip cut scenes, Lynch seems a little more brash and drunken than the drugged-up but sharp Holmes, but the similarity is unmistakable nevertheless."
Game Vortex writes: "Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets is an unusual blend of adventure and puzzle genres to make something that really does stand out, even if it gets a little tedious at times.
The look of Dr. Lynch is very 2D. The investigation story is portrayed via a comic strip with next and previous page buttons at the bottom, while the levels themselves are actually semi-static images filled with random objects available for your clicking pleasure. By semi-static, I mean for the most part the image is still, except for some accent items moving about. So why are seemingly random objects thrown about your screen? More on that later."
The sound effects and music are really worth noting. They don't merely suit the game in this case - they give it life. Hidden object games seem to be more or less 90% experience and 10% gameplay. The game developers must have had that clearly in mind. In that respect, Dr Lynch: Grave Secrets is just perfect; it's the way all hidden object experiences should be.
GameZebo writes: "With a record that includes Women's Murder Club, Agatha Christie: Peril at End House, and the Zeeby award-winning Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile, I-Play (formerly Oberon Media) is no stranger to publishing hidden object games with good stories. That tradition continues with Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets.
The latest tale to spring from the mind of acclaimed game designer Jane Jensen, Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets is a classic whodunit mystery in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. The star in this case is England's leading skeptic, Dr. Ignatius Lynch, who reads a newspaper article that tells of a ghostly woman witnessed haunting an archaeological dig site in a quaint country down. Intrigued, Dr. Lynch sets out with his assistant, Overly, to investigate in hopes of debunking the mystery."
