I might be very biased, since I have been flying with a full setup for years, but you are limiting your experience on a flight sim like this without a proper HOTAS (Hands Off Throttle And Stick).

You can definitively fly with less, yes. And since these days there is not much of a competitive dogfight scene in flight sims, you do not need to have the latest and the greatest, sure.

But if anyone wants to "dive-in" and play the way it's meant to be played, this is a wonderful intro set for ~$200 Thrustmaster T16000M FCS Flight Pack

Also, the DCS base sim that contains two free planes (Su-25T "Frogfoot" attack jet and the TF-51D "Mustang") can be downloaded for free from Steam : https://store.steampowered.com/app/223750/DCS_World_Steam_Edition/