[hopfog]

Yes, this is a really good article that I can highly recommend if you're interested in these type of "falling sand" simulations.

A big difference between a classic powder toy game like in the article and Noita is that Noita needs to run a much larger simulation that extends beyond the visible canvas. So while multithreading is probably not needed in the former it's most likely needed when the game is a scrolling platformer. I posted a GDC talk by the Noita devs as a reply to a sibling comment if you're interested in their tech.