[5] Los Angeles Times writer Gary Goldstein described it as "vivid" and "immersive", noting its characters "provide a haunting window into a deeply anarchic world too-rarely glimpsed".

[8] In a review for Point of View magazine, Pat Mullen said the film "works viscerally and has a great impact at an emotional level" and that McCabe "implores audiences to bear witness to crimes to which previous generations turned a blind eye".

[10] L. Kent Wolgamott of Lincoln Journal Star said the film tells the war-torn story of the DRC through "the testimony of four people, vintage news clips and raw, riveting footage from the battlefields and displaced person camps".

"[12] David D'Arcy of Screen Daily commended McCabe for presenting the DRC story with a "grim element of surprise", but ended up saying the documentary's multiple perspectives "can feel lopsided".

[13] Reviewing for International Policy Digest, David Ferguson said This Is Congo was "beautifully photographed, and perfectly captures the often stunning landscape between violent bursts of war and personal fright".