The song received critical acclaim, with Jillian Mapes of
Pitchfork called the song "a promising way forward" for Perry and her best single since 2013's "
Walking on Air", appreciating the lyrics for not being "horrendously cheesy (a noted weak spot for Perry and her co-writers)". She wrote that Perry made "bad decisions sound enticing" and hailed it as her "most impressively tongue-tied chorus to date". Chris Willman of
Variety shared a similar view, saying the repetition in the chorus "somehow works to the song's tongue-twisting advantage".
The A.V. Clubs Gwen Ihant wrote that the track "puts Perry right back in
earworm territory" and called it an "impressive showcase" of her vocals with an "addictive hook songwriters dream of". In
The New York Times,
Jon Caramanica described it as "
Norwegianish Spotifycore" and a "
bubble-pop" song.
The Independents Roisin O'Connor regarded "Never Really Over" as a "truly gratifying return" for Perry after "a period of misfires", noting that it has "hooks galore and harks back her
Teenage Dream days of uplifting, bright pop music." Ilana Kaplan of
Rolling Stone favored "the return of her hypnotic vocals" and felt the song "puts Perry back where she belongs: on Sugar Mountain." In his review for
Clash, Robin Murray deemed it a "pop jewel". Mikael Wood of the
Los Angeles Times compared the song's "willfully imprecise" lyrics and "carefully reverbed" vocals to "
Me!" by
Taylor Swift, concluding that despite its charms, "Perry is probably no better protected." ==Commercial performance==