Kelly, in his review for Pitchfork, wrote that Continent was a "rich[] experience when looked at as independent of any peripheral distraction, with its pop-friendly attention-grabbers very much in the foreground." He praised how Silver used nostalgic elements on the LP: "Where artists like Neon Indian or Washed Out rely on instant gratification to transport a listener back to specific time or feeling, CFCF's music is less concerned with arriving at a discernible destination than it is with detailing the journey." One criticism in Kelly's review was the long length of the tracks: "Large parts of Continent may be considered too cautious or circuitous for the casual listener [...] However, by employing a bit of listener fortitude, you'll hopefully unlock the vibrancy that lies at Continent's core and defines it as the sure-footed, elegantly stated electro-pop record it most certainly is." Benjamin Boles of Now magazine praised Silver's "futuristic reimaginings of vintage sounds and [his] strong sense of good old-fashioned melody."
