Writing in their 1975 book "", "NME" journalists Roy Carr and Tony Tyler opined that "Mind Games" "bears all the hallmarks of being made without any definite objective in mind – other than to redeem the unpleasantness of "Some Time In New York City"". While noting the singer's attempts to re-create "the lyricism and melodic inventiveness" of "Imagine", Carr and Tyler continued: "The reason the total album is not more effective can be laid at the door of Lennon's personal situation, and on his tendency to "react" to events, instead of "initiating" them." In "The Beatles Apart" (1981), Bob Woffinden considered that, aside from the "excellent" title track and "Bring on the Lucie", "Mind Games" "consisted of so-so songs that hardly lodged in the memory", and that "The best one can say of the album is that it's exceptionally well produced."