There's one major mechanic that opens up shortly after Lt. Surge: nonlinearity. Once you get to Lavender Town, there are several options to go to, and I suspect

There's one major mechanic that opens up shortly after Lt. Surge: nonlinearity. Once you get to Lavender Town, there are several options to go to, and I suspect that will be difficult for an AI to handle over a limited context window. And if the AI decides to attempt Seafoam Islands, all bets are off.