In Issue 235 of Dragon (November 1996), Rick Swan was disappointed in this book, noting that most of the material could be found in a good library, that some of the material such as the date of the Chelsea Flower Show was simply trivia, and "the designers don’t do much to tie the material into the Cthulhu Mythos, beyond an occasional suggestion of supernatural activity." Swan concluded by giving this book a rating of only 3 out of 6, saying, "London Guidebook succeeds on its own terms, but before you invest, make sure you know what you’re getting."[2]
In Issue 14/15 of The Unspeakable Oath, Alan Grohe called this book "a solid summary of the city's environs and atmosphere, and its inhabitants' lifestyles." Grohe thought that the strongest part of the book was focused on "the perspective of the poor, hospital treatment, law, and the common attitude toward police." Grohe concluded by giving this book a rating of 7.5 out of 10, saying, "While it contains nothing that couldn't be researched by anyone with time and access to historical materials, the book should prove useful to any Keeper setting scenarios in London."[1]
In Issue 9 of the French games magazine Backstab [fr], Thibsaid Béghin noted the "atmospheric details which will allow the Keepers to animate a very brilliant campaign with great credibility." Béghin liked the details of underground life, saying, "The evocation of the underground life of the capital is also exciting and will undoubtedly lead more than one Investigator into the heart of dark stench." The only disappointment was the illustrations, which Béghin pointed out were "few and far between, not very neat and rarely timely.There are some photos and other original documents, but they are poorly presented. The same goes for period maps, which could be very useful if they were legible." Béghin concluded by giving this book a rating of 8 out of 10.[3]
In Issue 10 of the British game magazine Arcane, Paul Pettengale pointed out to his UK audience that "by basing scenarios in the British Isles you can do away with all of those dodgy fake American accents and copious references to American icons." Pettengale liked the illustrations, noting "the book is scattered with period photography, some of which is highly evocative, with a brooding, malevolent atmosphere.... Spot illustrations (both period and contemporary) are also used here to good effect, maintaining the typically high standard we've come to expect in Chaosium's range of roleplaying books and supplements." But Pettengale pointed out that the book's authors did not realize the magnitude of the traffic problem in London following World War I, "when the number of cars in Britain was rapidly approaching a million, and roads ... were still only really suitable for horse and cart — it's all too easy when playing CoC to forget just how much of a problem transportation was in the 1920s, especially in a major city." Pettengale's one disappointment was that only one short 4-page scenario was included. Pettengale concluded by giving this book a rating of 8 out of 10, saying, "The London Guidebook is absolutely essential for any referee who intends to run a campaign or a number of scenarios in 1920s London. It not only gives the all-important locational information, but also provides the referee with dozens of ideas as to how the places and people described can be used to good effect in various scenarios."[5]
