shovel knight certainly nails what it's going for, but what its going for is pretty uninteresting tbh. it is a mismash of memorable parts from various nes action games jammed into a value package (too many levels that are all too long, too many dialog boxes, too much of anything really) for players who think the original games its referencing are outdated and/or have 'bad game design' because they are too hard. also lots of comedy writing from people who respond "well played, sir" to puns probably. Volgarr is a much better example of an american-made nostalgia sidescroller (even if the graphics in that game leave a great deal to be desired).
when I think for successful western indie games I think of stuff like Spelunky and Binding of Isaac, which, while they do reference older games that were obviously important to the creators, they also made it into something interesting that isn't just a re-tread of the same old shit with some memes plastered on top (disclaimer: isaac still plasters memes on top, but it is on top of something interesting). I havent played night in the woods but it seems more like a visual novel with some minigames added in for effect, which is at least making an effort beyond regurgitating classics with training wheels and fancier chiptune music.
