Persecution: Gender and Sexuality in Ryse: Son of Rome [SPOILERS]

So I wanted to have a conversation about one of the elements of Polygon's review of Ryse: Son of Rome and see what other players are experiencing and how this relates to the review.

To save some time, here is the passage in question:

Persecution

Within its generic action game plot, Ryse hides an uncomfortable approach to demonizing its villains. The game's bad guys are consistently portrayed as feminine and, as the game progresses, sexually deviant. Worse, Ryse ties those traits in with heavily implied homosexuality, later adding bestiality into the mix as well.

There is some historical precedent for feminine traits being seen as negative in this time period, but most sources point to homosexuality being a common and accepted extension of male sexuality — not something that the citizenry would be driven to mock. Moreover, even if there was a historical basis for it, Ryse uses those traits to frame your enemies as unlikable and worth killing. It's a cheap and frankly gross tactic.

I had posted in the comments on the review and had a brief back and forth with @pkollar about it before finishing the game, and now that I have finished it, here are my thoughts:

1. I did feel that Bacillus and Aquilo (as well as Nero to some extent) were portrayed as slightly feminine - their dress and movements definitely had a feminine quality to it. But I didn't think that Oswald (though his "villainy" is obviously up for debate) Commodus or Glott were portrayed as feminine in any regard, so I don't really see how it is "consistent."

2. I failed to see any implied homosexuality (much to my disappointment lol.) In fact, Basillius is shown in one sequence where he is surrounded by naked women, and walking off with them. I would think regardless of his dress or mannerisms, the fact that he is seen engaging in activities with women would outweigh the implications of his dress or mannerism. I believe in this sequence you do see two women kissing - but it's in the spirit of "straight baiting" and not showing a spectrum of sexuality.

3. The only example of bestiality that I saw was graffiti of Nero being mounted by a dog or a bull.

My thoughts on sexuality/gender in the game in general.

I liked that Marius, as a protagonist, didn't have a predefined sexuality. I feel like almost every game (especially with this story archetype) has the character set as avenging his wife/girlfriend/child. I also like that he didn't bed any women in the game (e.g. Kratos, the Witcher) again sort of leaving his sexuality as a non-issue. It was refreshing.

While the game was pretty much a sausage fest, I thought Boudica was presented well, and other than some very brief interludes (midway through the game did someone decide that the yellow goddess needed to have less clothes on?) thought it wasn't as overly sexualized as most action games.

So what did you think?

Was the review accurate in that portion?

Did I miss some gay stuff? Is there more in the unlockable comics?

Did you read Basillius and Aquilo as homosexual?