This game is gonna be a banger isn't it?

So here's something interesting about the art style
At first I thought it was awkward that the characters were drawn on a 3/4 angle and always partially facing the camera, kind of staring off to space instead of in front, since mainline mario games always had them looking nearly directly ahead. Paper Mario does it too, but it makes more sense since the game's art style is minimalist and had 3D exploration.
Then I realized it's a reference to one specific mainline game

It's not just that they're doing something different, they're trying to make a game that's just as revered as SMW was