writing for "los angeles times", mikael wood saw the musical influence of asmr culture and complimented the overall production of the track. he described the lyrics as "willfully imprecise" and noted that perry's vocals were "carefully reverbed". in a review for "the a.v. club", gwen ihant praised the lyrics and felt the song had "an impressive showcase for perry's powerful pop vocals". mike wass of idolator called "never really over" a "song of the summer contender", praising the use of dagny's 2017 song "love you like that", and also noted that the song "feels like a natural progression from "witness" rather than a step back." patrick ryan of "usa today" complimented the "pulsing zedd-produced breakup anthem" as her "best new song in years."