Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork Media in a 2003 review of the "Singles Box Set 1981–1985", said that "singles don't come much stronger than 'Hungry Like the Wolf'," praising its "bubbly keys around a slashing guitar riff," adding that the song "show off how Duran Duran was a band, not just a synthesizer." Jon Pareles from "The New York Times", said the song "put an oblique, sometimes apocalyptic spin on pop romance in the verses but kept the choruses clear and catchy, never disguising their pop intentions," adding that the "posing was always a little preposterous, but no less enjoyable for that."