It's worth it, the game is actually one of the best space games ever now. In a genre that is pretty hard to be best in. So many amazing choices for space games. I'd argue the game is almost as good now as people thought it was gonna be before it released, hehe.
Six spaceships, base building, your own dreadnought (aka base building... IN SPACE), minor space politics where the decisions don't matter, and lots and lots of exploration.
If I've never played before yet - is it easy/approachable to enter fresh? or will I be smack overwhelmed by all the updates/patches being available and not sure what to do?
As someone who just recently started playing (Xbox Gamepass is the GOAT), it's not bad. Like, I've definitely played more streamlined/accessible games (think single-player, story-driven games) but it's not like you'd have no idea what to do. Like another reply said, it's pretty forgiving; I haven't died or been truly inconvenienced even once and I've got at least 8 hours in it so far. The worst part is just that there IS a lot of stuff available for you to do and the objectives are essentially "Do this thing to unlock further things, but there's no rush. You do you boo"
Just play and see? Just don't play creative and jump right in without doing a single tutorial. They are short to when you get your first ship. Otherwise have fun