I play with the Oculus Rift S w/ mouse/kb. See other reviews or forums in regards to hotas stuff.
As a VR title 5/5, non VR 4/5.

Not getting into the social political stuff because it has been a thing for the last 8-9 years and I really don't care.
Is the story and gameplay good? Story is okay, gameplay is good.

What the game features now -
5 hr or so campaign
2.5 gamemodes with 6 maps.
You have 5 v 5 dogfights.
5 V AI Fleet Battles
Ranked 5 v 5 Fleet battles.
8 ships filling All rounder, Bomber, Fighter, & Support roles.
Loadout customization
A lot of vanity cosmetics.

What the game needs -
More map variety.
1 or 2 more game modes on an unranked rotation. 5 v 5 TDM is only fun for so long at the same 6 locations.
Ranked Fleet Battles Balancing

What I'd like to see -
More solo missions.
More customization options for player characters.
^If they are gonna make it so i can personalize my character then actually let me do it.^
Clan system to make organized crossplay easier.

Between the campaign and multiplayer for me i'd say you can expect at least 15 hrs out of this before you get bored.
If that's worth EA Play or $40 to you then I recommend this game.

Personally VR adds another $10 to a price tag for me because it's my preferred way to play a game because i have a busy life and when i play games it's an escape. No better way than full immersion for that.

If you don't have VR i'd recommend EA Play so you can play through the singleplayer and try out the multiplayer for a few hours at a lot less of a cost and potentially save yourself some money.