"Do or Die" was awarded 'Single of the Week' in the January 19–25, 2000 issue of the "Melody Maker" by guest reviewers Pär Wiksten and Christina Bergmark from The Wannadies who gave the track "all the points we can afford" and claimed that it ends perfectly. The "NME" described the song as "not the best track from ... "Guerrilla", but then not the worst either" and claimed that it was mostly of note because it was the second single by Super Furry Animals to be less than two minutes long following 1996's "God! Show Me Magic". Despite stating that there was "no need whatsoever" for the release, the "NME" ranked "Do or Die" at number 55 in their single of the year list for 2000. In a 2005 review of the reissued "Guerrilla", Pitchfork described the track as "near-perfect sunny pop" while, in an earlier review of "Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1", the website called "Do or Die" "proggy quasi-Britpop" and likened its guitar part to "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band. Also reviewing "Songbook...", the BBC described "Do or Die" as one of several "great hairy rock outs" on the record, "The Washington Post" called it "straightforward pop-punk" and Drowned in Sound labelled it a "guitar-laden sugar rush". Website Cokemachineglow likened the track to the work of The Stooges. Pitchfork claimed that the single's b-sides, the "inescapably sha-la-la-ing 'Colorblind'" and the "piano-accented bounder" "Missunderstanding (sic)", pale beside "Do or Die" and the other tracks on "Guerilla" although they "do manage to scratch the itch for more SFA".