Clicker Heroes embodies a monumental turning point in the progression of video games as a medium: the beginning of the end. Much as the Dada movement did to art, it brings into question the fundamental concept of video games, ultimately reducing it to absurdity and bringing to light the futility and meaninglessness of such endeavors.
Many years ago, a friend of mine posited a hypothetical game composed of a single button which incremented the player's displayed score when clicked. He said that people would still pour hours into playing such a mind-numbingly minimal game. I laughed. At the time, the very notion seemed ludicrous to me. It's humbling to see how far gamers have fallen.