The song received widespread critical acclaim from music critics. Josephine Cruz of
Hypebeast described the song as "one of the strongest tracks" from
Rodeo, elaborating: "Backed by standout production and a catchy hook, this a testament to the songwriting chops of all three of these young rappers, and while a lot has been made of Swae Lee's 'influence' on Travi$' style in recent months, here there's room for everyone to shine". Matthew Ramirez of
Spin felt that "Swae Lee's cherubic voice contrasts nicely with Scott's groaned delivery and Chief Keef's
Auto-Tuned mumble on 'Nightcrawler,' which hits its precise aim of ominous and fun". Sheldon Pearce of
Pitchfork saw "Nightcrawler" and another song, "Maria I'm Drunk", as the best songs on the album, writing that Scott "has an ear for programming", but the two songs "mostly succeed because they overcome his contributions". In 2018, over two-and-a-half years after the release of the song and album, Aaron Williams of
Uproxx summarized that "Travis' best songs are often marked by star turns by guest stars acting as foils for his artistic proclivities and 'Nightcrawler' is one of the best examples", adding that "while Travis' singing is often the centerpiece of his catchier tracks,
Rae Sremmurd's Swae Lee comes through to highlight just how good Travis is by providing a comparison point for his crooning against one of the best in
hip-hop (another great example is Swae's '
Close' from
his own album earlier this year)" and "Scott's warbling stands up against Swae's, illustrating the polish on his well-rounded artistic versatility". However, in a negative review, Frazier Tharpe of
Complex described the song as "a noisy near misfire". ==Charts==