Although it proved to be a commercial failure, Solvalou was well received by critics for its realism, 3D graphics and impressive hardware capabilities, with some finding it to be better than Namco's previous 3D arcade titles.

[1] The Solvalou is restricted to a pre-determined flight path, though players can move it around to avoid projectiles and obstacles that approach it.

[6] The music and sound effects in Solvalou were composed by Hiroyuki Kawada, a Namco veteran that worked primarily on established franchises such as Galaxian and Valkyrie.

[9] A Gamest reviewer believed it was proof that Namco had perfected its 3D computer graphics technology, and another felt it provided the game with a proper sense of immersion.

[13] GamePro writer "Hack'n Slash" described it as being "breathtaking" and "pulse-pounding shoot-em-up" that cleverly blended together the basic concepts in Xevious with the action of 3D arcade games.

agreed, and enjoyed Solvalou for its simplicity, but was critical of the difficulty, and noted that the player could easily become overwhelmed by the number of enemies and projectiles onscreen.

[12] Though they were satisfied with the game overall, Gamest writers felt it could have benefited from more content, and would only really please Xevious fans instead of the general public that Namco hoped it would bring.

[8] Critics generally believed the game was entertaining and was worth playing,[8][14][12] with GameFan showing hope for it being released on the 3DO.

Retro Gamer's Stuart Campbell in 2006 believed Solvalou was a faithful update to Xevious, and his disappointment at the lack of re-releases and proper emulation for the game led him to label it as "one of the great "lost" coin-ops".

[4] In 2014, Carlo Savorelli of Hardcore Gaming 101 likened it to Konami's Solar Assault (1996), a similar 3D spin-off of Gradius.

Though he was critical of its high difficulty, Inamoto claimed the 3D graphics and intuitive usage of the Wii Remote's pointer function made Solvalou a must-own on the platform.