A synth-pop, dance-rock and pop rock song, "Perfect Illusion" lyrically delves on the singer's "highest of highs and lowest of lows" in a relationship, and is ultimately a commentary on social media.

Music critics gave mixed to positive reviews for "Perfect Illusion", with many of them noting similarities to the work of American musician Bruce Springsteen.

"[8] The producer additionally hinted the involvement of Kevin Parker, the frontman for the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, which BBC Music later confirmed to be true.

Concerning this he confessed, "[Gaga] loves just sitting at a piano and barking orders at a drummer and she has an incredible voice," further clarifying that they would begin with the songs first and then go with the other aspects of the composition.

[13] The composition consists of "pulsing verses" and a guitar-and-vocal breakdown before the final chorus, with Gaga singing the main title multiple times.

He called its core a "simple pop song" which harked back to the singer's initial releases like "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" (both 2008).

The mixture of guitar and the "grumbling" synths reminded Corner of Gaga's single "Marry the Night" from her second studio album, Born This Way (2011), along with the "thumping" beat.

[18] Glamour and Rolling Stone reported that some listeners found similarities between the song and Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" (1986);[27][28] in response to the comparisons, Ronson told the latter magazine, "Obviously, that was some kind of accident".

[34] Following her appearance at iHeartMedia, Gaga revealed the name of the single by uploading a series of twelve images on her Instagram account, creating a mosaic which spelt out the song's name.

[21] Writing for Paper, Carey O'Donnell called the cover "iconic", comparing Gaga to Canadian singer-songwriter Alice Glass and complimenting the metal and punk look.

[13][49] Alice Vincent of The Daily Telegraph gave the song four out of five stars, saying that it "delights me to write that this is a return to 'Just Dance'-era Gaga: a simple, infectiously catchy slice of floor-filling, stadium-cheering pop".

[17] For Jess Denham from The Independent, "Perfect Illusion" sounded more rock-oriented than "Just Dance" or "Poker Face"; she also complimented the vocals, compared the verses to work by singer Bruce Springsteen, and added that the track was "as catchy as they come and sure to prove a club banger".

[54] Rhian Daly from NME praised the singer's vocals on the track and said "its booming disco influence and sheer force make it a formidable return [for Gaga]".

[55] Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times called the song "a stomping disco-rock jam with a killer robot-Motown groove, buckets of scuzz-punk guitar fuzz and a key change designed to trigger Pavlovian fist-pumps".

[56] In a review for The Daily Beast, Kevin Fallon was very impressed with Gaga's key change and complimented her vocals by describing it as "explosive and jagged, muddying up that tradition".

[58] Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic noticed that Gaga was "blubbering like Bruce Springsteen" during the song's verse, but found it lacked irony in her delivery.

Richard S. He of The Guardian heard "zero pitch correction on her vocal", and criticized this decision by adding that "Gaga wants you to hear the blue notes, the cracks in her voice.

"[61] Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes felt that "Perfect Illusion" did not live up to its significant anticipation, criticizing the song's production and Gaga's vocal performance.

[63] Rolling Stone ranked it number 28 on their Best Songs of 2016 list, stating, "Gaga fuses her neo-folkie Lilith-hippie mode with her disco roots in this Mark Ronson-produced dance-floor confession.

[78] "Perfect Illusion" reached number five on the Italian Singles Chart and obtained a Gold certification from Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) for selling over 25,000 units.

They were present in the recording studio with the singer and Ronson during conception of several tracks and the album's journey helped them understand Gaga's intent with the music.

Jack White from the Official Charts Company noted that the editing consisted of "quick, jagged camera cuts" which made up majority of the visuals.

[88] Jon Blistein from Rolling Stone described the visuals as "an eye-popping, strobe-lit bacchanal" with Gaga "[throwing] a frenetic desert rager in the euphoric new video".

[90] Bianca Gracie from Fuse commented that Gaga "exudes fearlessness while she kicks up dust, drives around in a jeep and throws a wild party" in the video.

[93] Similar thoughts were echoed in Lara Walsh's review of the clip for InStyle, where she fawned about being a "big fan" of Gaga's "raw appearance" in the video.

[86] Writing for the Idolator, Mike Wass noted that the cover artwork gives one a clear idea regarding what to expect from the video, seeing that it "reinvents Gaga as a rockstar" and the "epilepsy induced editing brings the whole thing to life".

[94] Caitlyn Callegari from Bustle compared the clip with that of experiencing a Gaga concert from the front row and called it "appealing" since it had the singer's "patented stylistic melodrama while also maintaining an air of realness to it".

Other observations included "something strange" with Gaga's eyes, which he theorized was either due to the makeup or her contact lenses "to make the whites bigger", or the directors wanted her to "roll her pupils back".

Kornhaber finished the review saying that the although the clip was "not a work of provocation", it still appeared a brave step since none of the singer's contemporaries would have attempted "something so raw and low-concept".

[99][100] While promoting Joanne in Japan, Gaga performed a piano-only version of "Perfect Illusion" on morning television program Sukkiri!, and sang the song accompanied by the Japanese boy band on SMAP×SMAP.