Star Citizen is flawed in major ways, but it's still my favorite game even unfinished. It does things no other game does. It's a broken, incomplete experience, but it is still my favorite thing regardless.
It's easy to hate on it from the outside. I was an early backer and I echoed the sentiment many of these articles have. Last December I hopped into the Alpha with a friend and after playing it every week for the past 9 months I have to say that while I acknowledge the slow and flawed development, they made something I think is awesome today. It's maybe never coming out, but there's a sandbox today that's been worth exploring.
I'd say the lowest price point is still fun. I have lots of friends in my org who haven't spent over 35 dollars. You can earn money and buy ships in game, or rent them. There are plenty of zero to hero videos on YouTube where people start with nothing. I've spent money on the game, true, but I'm often flying the cheap ships because they're more fun to fly than the expensive ones. A cutlass black can be bought in game for very little, and it's my favorite ship to daily.