Vienna was Ultravox's first album with their best-known line-up, after Midge Ure had taken over as lead vocalist and guitarist following the departures of John Foxx and Robin Simon, as well as the group's first release for Chrysalis.

In Sounds, John Gill gave the album an enthusiastic review, and challenged the reader, "I dare you to find another band who can mix Euro systems-rock, electronics, Can's fairground style and English music with such panache".

"[14] Penny Kiley of Melody Maker was generally positive but felt the album contained weak moments, saying that "the first half of side two reveals the most tedious liabilities.

"[17] Philip Hall of Record Mirror felt that although "Ultravox make all the right noises, they are never capable of writing consistently memorable pieces ... Vienna is full of conventional electronic rock songs which are beautifully executed but never inspiring.

The review presciently concluded, "Despite their wanton plagiarism and less clearly defined ideas, Vienna will probably be the album that makes Ultravox because, unfettered of Foxx's commitment, they're free to compromise themselves a touch to suit contemporary tastes.

[19] Rolling Stone's Debra Rae Cohen was more critical and found that Ultravox "seem reduced to mimicking their earlier achievements", panning the album's "overblown arrangements" and "familiar and banal electronic effects.

"[8] Reviewing the 2000 reissue for Q, David Quantick called Vienna the band's "best album" and said that "there were fine singles such as 'Sleepwalk' and 'All Stood Still' and the title track which – like a cartoon hippo – remains pompous yet loveable.

[20] Also reviewing the 2008 version, Mojo's David Buckley said that "[the title track]'s studied grandeur has aged far less well than the electro-rush of lead-off single 'Sleepwalk', the instrumental 'Astradyne', or the punishing riff-rock of 'New Europeans'.

"[21] Buckley was more complimentary in a 2020 reappraisal for Mojo, noting it as the album where Ultravox "transformed (or transmogrified, for many lovers of the original line-up) into chart contenders; nothing whatsoever wrong with that.

"[9] AllMusic critic David Jeffries said, "There are plenty of pretentious and pompous moments at which Foxx-era purists cringe, but taken as a snooty rebellion against the guitar-heavy climate of the late '70s, they're ignorable ... Add Anton Corbijn's photography and Peter Saville's smart cover design and all the ingredients for an early-'80s classic are there.