[2] The text-to-speech speaker on the song says "Watashi wa choudo nani ga juuyou ka mitsukeyou toshite iru," translating to "I'm just trying to find what is important to me," which Robinson said was "nice, because it could have come out as something completely random.

[4] Megan Buerger wrote to Billboard that the song begins with a calm disco beat reminiscent of old video games, with a faint bassline building in the background, and, after two minutes, there are "30 intense seconds of thick, swinging bass".

[8] The song was initially planned to be the album's second single after "Sea of Voices," but Robinson replaced it with "Sad Machine" three days before its release.

[12] The re-cut was ranked number seven on Billboard's "The 15 Best Dance / Electronic Remixes of 2015," Matt Medved writing that "What Mat Zo's meandering revision of the Worlds fan-favorite lacks in cohesion, it more than makes up in imagination.

Lucas Villa described the video as "like seeing Japan on a train ride," where "scenes of the area fly by with an abounding amount of digital alterations.

"[14] Stolman praised Robinson on the track for not being "overwhelmed by his influences, which seem to extend farther back into history than most producers in his field", while joking that "it's just a bit of a shame that disco is one of them.

"[15] AllMusic journalist Andy Kellman said in his review of the album that "Flicker", along with "Lionhearted" and "Years of War" "have sections muscular and bold enough to move large crowds",[16] while Las Vegas Weekly critic Mike Prevatt described the track's hook as having an "emotional payoff.