http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArJ60tD3K1c

One of the benefits of the Assassin's Creed franchise's historical setting is being surrounded by characters who would go on to be famous historical figures, such as Leonardo da Vinci in Assassin's Creed II and George Washington in Assassin's Creed III. The latter game took Desmond Miles' ancestral line of 'Forrest Gump's to an almost absurd degree, with Connor Kenway showing up at almost every major event of the American Revolution.

Revolution is in the air once again in Assassin's Creed Unity, the upcoming current-gen console and PC title that takes place in Paris during the French Revolution. A recently released cinematic for the game revealed that the protagonist, Arno Dorian, was one of only seven prisoners who were incarcerated at the Bastille during its famous Storming, which means that he will have some pretty famous company.

As a new story trailer for Assassin's Creed Unity illustrates, Arno will meet a lot of famous figures over the course of the game. Among them is the Marquis de Sade, who was also imprisoned at the Bastille but was transferred away several days before it was captured. Napoleon Bonaparte was apparently an ally of the Assassins in his younger days, and also introduced in the trailer is revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre, who would later become best known for helping to orchestrate the Reign of Terror, during which many enemies of the revolution were sent to the guillotine.

The trailer also touches upon the love story between Arno and Élise, a childhood friend of his who ends up being recruited by the Templars and embarks upon her own quest for revenge. Both she and Arno desire to find out who murdered Élise's father, but the two have very different ideas about how to accomplish this goal.

Fans have been asking for an Assassin's Creed game set during the French Revolution more or less since the franchise began, and the upcoming title marks a move away from the naval gameplay of the previous two games (though there's another dose of that on the way in Assassin's Creed Rogue) and back to the world of tall buildings and (hopefully) some more covert assassinations, rather than assassination by cannonball.

However, those fearing they may need a crash course on French history just to follow Unity's plot can rest easy, as the game's director promises that the game will be one in which Arno (and the player) will merely be tasked with witnessing history, not making it themselves.

Assassin’s Creed Unity releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 11.