"Syphon Filter" received critical acclaim, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. "Edge" stated that, although the game borrows elements from both "GoldenEye 007" and "Metal Gear Solid" and that "the execution could have been better accomplished, Eidetic a few ideas of its own, and these go a long way towards providing the game with its own identity." The blend of a stealth-action hybrid gameplay was praised by most critics. Doug Perry of IGN enjoyed the implemented skill-based action that he considered was "hard to come by in a PlayStation game". Perry praised the game's detail and advanced graphics, but criticised the low resolution and acknowledged the game's imperfect frame rate. Despite this, he remarked that what "Syphon Filter" "gives up in frame rate [it provides in character and environment detail".