In his retrospective review, David Cleary of AllMusic described "Kaleidoscope" as a "strong record" with "extraordinarily imaginative production values, featuring intricate synthesizer-flecked arrangements; psychedelic touches in "Christine", spaceship synthesizer swoops in "Tenant" and rhythmic camera clicks in "Red Light" all enliven their respective songs". The 2004 edition of "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" gave a 3 out 5 rating saying that with the change in personnel, "Kaleidoscope" refined "the Banshees' attack, diversifying the sound without losing its swirling impact". In 2020, "Rolling Stone" included "Kaleidoscope" in the top 40 of their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising McGeoch as "one of the Eighties’ unsung guitar masters" and Siouxsie's "vocal charisma".