"Climax" was received with widespread critic acclaim, who commended its musical direction, lyrics, Usher's singing, and Diplo's production.

[2] Usher and Diplo worked on the song's production for two months, recording in studios in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta.

[2] Diplo originally pursued a house music sound based on a chord progression he wrote, but changed his direction after working in the recording studio alone on what he called a "wildfire" beat.

[3] In April 2020, Canadian R&B singer the Weeknd said in a cover story with Vanity Fair that "Climax" (and pop as a genre) was influenced by his debut mixtape, House of Balloons (2011).

[4] Diplo posted a series of tweets soon after, praising House of Balloons and acknowledging its influence on his production for "Climax": "When I heard those early records [by the Weeknd] they blew my mind – soulful in their silences, and a spacey iconic voice that felt uniquely internet.

[13] Its varying soundscape incorporates electronic effects such as clicks, hisses, whooshes, and low-frequency synths,[10][14] as well as subtle strings and scattered piano notes.

[11] Marc Hogan of Spin writes that Diplo "teases us with the sort of wubba-wubba subwoofer noises that have become inescapable in the past year or so of pop radio.

But he never actually gives in with the full dubstep drop ... the song keeps swelling to one big wave after another, without ever really reaching a single, song-stopping crescendo.

"[11] Hogan cites the bridge at around the three-minute mark as "the closest thing to a climax" on the song, "when the track gets as quiet as it ever has before becoming as lush as it ever gets.

"[11] Pitchfork Media's Carrie Battan calls the song "an exercise in the power of restraint", commenting that "Diplo shows uncharacteristic subtlety behind Usher's sentiment, with a beat that seems to hang suspended in midair.

[10] The lyrics address a relationship in a state of tension and uncertainty: "We've reached the climax / We're together / Now we're undone / Won't commit so we choose to run away / Do we separate?

"[15] Usher sings in a pleading falsetto and a plaintive tone on the song,[10][11] alternating restrained vocals and anguished howls.

[15][16] In an interview for V-103, Usher stressed that "Climax" focuses more on the complication of relationships rather than sex, saying that "it's really about the ultimate experience or lack thereof.

In Rolling Stone, Jody Rosen gave the song four out of five stars and stated, "Quiet storm gets a freaky sci-fi makeover",[10] while Will Hermes hailed it as "spring's best quiet-storm jam".

[27] Pitchfork journalist Carrie Battan deemed it "a doubly satisfying departure from [Usher and Diplo's] respective strains of club-ready fare.

"[15] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard called the song "an ode to the bewildering thoughts and feelings of relationship purgatory" and wrote that it is "a sound that Usher should explore more often.

"[1] Marc Hogan of Spin felt that the song is "as vividly communicative as it is decoratively beautiful" and praised its articulation, calling it "a tour de force of pacing and dynamics, giving listeners more and more, but then always easing up just enough to keep us begging for one more verse.

"[11] Priya Elan of NME cited "Climax" as Usher's "best song in absolutely years" and stated, "Goodbye cringe factor, hello Diplo, subtle electronic nuances and an expectation-defying vocal performance which is more Prince falsetto than depth-free showman.

"[28] He also compared it to the work of the Weeknd and commended its "lack of smut" in the lyrics, stating "it's just Usher playing it fast and loose in falsetto.

"[13] Eric Arredondo of Beats Per Minute viewed the song as an improvement over Usher's 2010 album Raymond v. Raymond and addressed the comparisons to the Weeknd, writing that, "though it still doesn't hold much of the innovations and risks of something like The Weeknd's House of Balloons, 'Climax' can do something that most songs on that album can't do without losing most of their fun: be played on the radio.

The video shows Usher sitting in a car contemplating on whether to go inside his ex-girlfriend's home and rekindle their once-passionate sex or leave and never return again.

In the realization of fury and anger, images distort Usher's reality with thoughts of taking his gun and shooting the intruder.