Matt Rinaldi of AllMusic praised the album's first-half for the "Shaolin soul" on the opening three tracks and other quality tracks like "Coke" and "Magnum Force", but felt it falters after the midpoint and delivers "one disappointment after another" in the second-half, concluding that: "With only four or five cuts that could be called certified dope, as far as second tier Wu-Tang albums go, Dopium belongs in the "skip" column."[1]HipHopDX writer Athorton was also commendable towards the album's first-half, but felt the hooks were "unimaginative placeholders" to "frequently interchangeable" verses, and was critical of U-God moving towards "radio friendly" material, concluding that: "There will surely be more exciting releases this year, but the half dozen decent songs are worth a few spins."[2] John-Michael Bond of RapReviews praised U-God for elevating his lyricism to not only stay on par with his guest artists but even out rhyme them, highlighting "Train Trussle" and "Coke", saying: "Add "Dopium" to the list of high value releases from the Clan, U-God has managed to kick his way out off the Clan's 3rd string bench leaving his previous spot far behind."[3]
