Yes, it's a model to infer normal maps from textures. Then you can use a modern PBR renderer on old content and have a better illusion of depth. It doesn't introduce the blockiness of voxels.
It seems the blockiness of voxels is the whole point. Applying normal maps to low-res textures doesn’t look good and completely changes the look. Generating high-res textures from the originals makes it even worse.
This voxel approach preserves the aesthetics of the old pixelated (now voxelated) graphics in a much more pleasing way.
