A closer look
Resident Evil's iconic system of healing brutal zombie bites with assorted potted herbs is a direct homage to traditional medicinal plants used in the mountainous regions of Japan, mixed with a healthy dose of complete video game absurdity. Players are expected to believe that a highly trained special forces agent facing a massive biological outbreak caused by a ruthless pharmaceutical corporation will repeatedly stop to aggressively eat green weeds they found in a dark hallway. While the terrifying Umbrella Corporation is bio-engineering unkillable mutants and infected dogs, your primary defense mechanism against a horrific viral pandemic is essentially just intense amateur botany. The series tries incredibly hard to maintain a gripping atmosphere of survival horror and cinematic tension, completely ignoring the fact that you cure a fatal neck wound by aggressively mashing up some mysterious red and green foliage in your inventory and immediately consuming the questionable botanical sludge
