Robert Wilonsky of the "Village Voice" called the film a "miniature masterpiece" and in August 2007 said it was his favourite film of the year so far. Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave the film five stars and said "It’s not just one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen". Keith Phipps of "The Onion" AV Club gave the film an "A-" and said it was "a film about what it takes to make it in America." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film three out of four stars, writing: "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at "Donkey Kong" would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?" Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" similarly gave the film three out of four and called it "a documentary that is beyond strange." Critic Richard Roeper stated that the film "deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary" in 2007 on "At The Movies".