It's nice to see this post detailing that, even with all our choices, we get small rewards for doing something.

I never played the game, so I can't answer the second q truthfully. So I'll say the scene as you detailed it is interesting and certainly plays a bigger psychological role in promoting "good"/"heroic" tendencies early on with a positive reward.

Heh, I like to point to Deltarune (aka Undertale 2.0) and how, in spite of Toby Fox's peckery when it comes to messages (remember "kill or be killed" in Undertale?), our choices to enact "genocide"/pacifist decision lead to either [expunged because spoilers]. That lil' hint of two separate outcomes are the first cracks in the sys that propagates our choices do matter in spite of the game saying "we have no choice." I really want to see how Deltarune solves the Undertale timeline, if it can be, and how the message of "no choices matter" (or the message of passive nihilism) is dealt with.

Upvot'd and resteem'd.