Nor am I asking for the Ascians to be "absolved" I want the game to acknowledge beyond a passing statement that what she did was wrong, and to stop propping her up as a benevolent goddess when she wasn't one.
Well , the writers know what they are doing, and as I enjoyed the storyline as is, I disagree with your interpretation.

Unfortunately this island is located somewhere tropical. It will have mostly sunny and rainy weather. The lack of biome choice is rather disappointing. I would've preferred a smaller and more customizable island than one that is locked to the tropical biome.
What fun is there in a snowed in, frozen wasteland where your crops wither and die?

Really?