In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "B+" and called it a "surprisingly solid" improvement, particularly with respect to Richie's ballad singing. He felt that its "jumpy international dance-pop" suits Richie more than the Commodores' funk had and predicted that, considering his "well-established appeal to white people," Can't Slow Down has the potential to become a "mini-Thriller". Don Shewey of Rolling Stone magazine gave the album four out of five stars and said that, although the ballads are monotonous, Richie successfully broadens his music for different listeners and draws on contemporary artists such as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson: "if you can't innovate, imitate. And the more honest they are about their sources, the better."

In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that Richie took a conservative, melodic hook-based approach on an album whose hits showed him at his best and whose only weakness was a short running time. In 1999, Q magazine included Can't Slow Down on its list of the best Motown records of all time and stated, "Production values are high, his songwriting craft is at its peak and at least one track - the global smash 'All Night Long' - is an anthem to good times that makes the heart sing and feet twitch".