[6] Mandi James from NME felt that it showed "their scope, imagination and innate skill for pure pop songs".

[7] Another NME editor, James Brown, wrote, "Token Techno track for people who prefer twisting and rolling at the hips to lying between the sheets listening to Peel.

"[8] Richie Blackmore from Record Mirror viewed it as a "furious piano-techno workout" that "is certainly at the cutting edge of current trends".

[11] Clubbing magazine Mixmag ranked the song number 24 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time" list in 1996.

"[13] Alexis Petridis, writing for The Guardian in 2020, ranked the Quadrant Mix of "Playing with Knives" at number 13 in his list of his 25 best early '90s breakbeat hardcore tracks.