This differs in Europe, where some NAA's view night flying as equivalent to IFR.
Night flying over LA is great; night flight over the desert or the Midwest away from cities can be effectively IFR; VFR private licenses require some IFR time but I highly recommend spending some time on instruments if you’re going to VFR at night.
And VFR over the top at night I just don’t recommend unless you have an IFR rating.