Upon release, Guildlings received generally favorable reviews, with praise directed towards the game's sincere tone, and the presentation of its narrative, characters and dialogue based on themes of friendship.

[2] Vollmer said in 2022 that he felt the game was "misaligned from his personal design sensibilities", though he praised the development team.

[3] The game's story, according to Sirvo, was inspired by EarthBound, Inkle's 80 Days, and fictional works incorporating themes of wonder.

[10] Giorgio Melani of Multiplayer.it commended the "aesthetic cleanliness" of the game's visual presentation, the "clever parody and sincere homage to fantasy role-playing games" and "fresh and pressing" narrative, although finding the gameplay was largely confined to the story.

[9] Kevin Mersereau of Destructoid highlighted the "beautiful" story about friendship supported by sincere character interactions and "gorgeous" soundtrack, whilst expressing frustration with the game's technical issues and the plot's ending on a cliffhanger.